Independent Hearts
by njborba
Summary: Max and Rosie are about to adopt their three year old foster daughter, Beth, when an unexpected guest arrives to cause trouble. Sequel to Courageous Hearts.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

Note: This story is set several months after the events in _Courageous Hearts_.

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 1**

By  
N. J. Borba

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Max chased after Beth, their footsteps clapping up tiny clouds of dust as they raced from the main house toward the animal hospital.

"I'm gonna get you little monkey," Max called after the girl. He didn't try very hard to catch her, though, delighted instead to watch her roam freely. Her golden hair caught in the morning sunlight as her two pig tails bounced with every step she took. Max knew exactly where the little girl was headed, inside the hospital to seek out Rosie. He caught up with the lively child just outside the door and snatched her about her waist with both his hands.

Rosie spotted them from the window and stepped outside to watch their interaction.

"Up you go!" Max exclaimed as he spun the girl upside down and lifted her as high as he could. Her little face was about level with his, her pig tails dangling downward and a jolly smile plastered to her face. He kissed Beth's soft cheek then righted her a moment later, placing her back on her feet.

Beth held on to his hands and jumped up and down in front of him. "Again, daddy! Do again, pwease!" she excitedly begged.

Hearing the little girl call Max daddy caused mixed emotions to churn in Rosie's stomach. She walked back into the hospital and moved toward a large cage where a female cheetah was lying down, eyes half closed and looking rather defeated. "Hey, girl," Rosie spoke to the animal with a gentle, genuine affection. "You need to eat something, please," she held out an offering in her palm, a chunk of succulent meat. Beth came bounding up beside her and tugged on Rosie's arm insistently.

"Me do, Wosie?" the girl asked.

With a nod, Rosie handed Beth a small bit of the meat. "Be careful," she warned the girl. "And be patient. This cheetah girl isn't a pet like Jana," Rosie explained.

"Cheetah giwl, me," Beth said, pointing to her chest. "Dup say."

Rosie kissed the top of Beth's head and smiled, continually impressed by how much her vocabulary had grown in a few months. She reasoned that the child was just opening up to them more. Or the fact that she was growing up quite a bit faster than Rosie had anticipated. "That's right, to Dup you'll always be a cheetah girl." Rosie smiled as she stood and watched Beth do her best to coax the cheetah into eating.

"Hi you," Max said as he snaked his arms around Rosie's waist from behind her.

She leaned against his warm body and relaxed a little, her head resting against his shoulder. "I saw you outside just a minute ago," Rosie remarked. "You and Beth were playing," she glanced down at the little girl who wasn't having any more luck feeding the cheetah than Rosie. "Again daddy, she said."

He grinned. "Bethy loves when I turn her upside down," Max didn't think much of it.

"Daddy," Rosie reiterated the main part of what she was trying to say. She sighed, not able to hold her feelings in check. "She's been calling you that for months now, not long after we were assigned custody of her. But she still only calls me Wosie," the young woman lamented. "Not that I expect her to just forget her parents and all that, I just wish…"

Max kissed his wife on the cheek and nuzzled her neck. "I guess we've never really talked about it, huh?" he could tell it was upsetting her more than she let on. Max knew Rosie rarely liked to talk about stuff that was bothering her. "I doubt it's personal, Rosie. Kids are naturally more attached to their mothers, which makes it harder to let go of them. Seeing me as a daddy is easier for her, I think. But calling you mum is going to mean to her that she'll never see her birth mum again. That's it, final. Probably kind of scary for her."

His words made perfect sense to her. She'd been that way about her mum for sure. And when Sarah had entered her life, Rosie had been adamant about not wanting the other woman around. It had taken time, but eventually she and Sarah had managed to become good friends. "You should've been a child psychologist, Mr. Gifthold," Rosie smiled.

"Could've had two doctors in the family then, Mrs. Gifthold," he smiled back.

Rosie pulled away. "I told you school can wait," she mumbled. "My shoulder isn't even completely healed yet. You know I've got muscle and nerve damage that might never be the same. If I can't even perform small tasks I shouldn't consider being a vet, performing surgery…" she trailed off. "But maybe I can still be a good assistant here for dad and Alice."

It was hard to keep his mouth shut, knowing the topic of her shoulder was still a tough thing to talk about for her. "Whatever you want, Rosie," he decided to leave it at that.

"What I want…" Rosie took him by the hand and drew him toward the office area and out of Beth's hearing range. She spoke softly just to be sure. "I want to make some plans for Beth's third birthday next week. I'd like to throw a big party for her since it's her first birthday with us. And I was thinking we could get her a really special gift, perhaps in the form of a kitten. What do you think?" she threw the idea at him. "She'd love it, right?"

He nodded, but couldn't help pointing out something. "You do know you can't buy her love, Rosie, not with presents or money or even animals."

"Of course I know that, Max," Rosie's eyes narrowed and she frowned in disappointment. "I can't believe you thought that was what I wanted to do," she walked off.

Before she could get far, Max caught her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'm sorry; I just…" he pulled her close again so he could look her in the eye. "You know my parents used to do that kind of thing and it drove me crazy."

She didn't say much else about it before transitioning. "Speaking of your parents, I think we should invite them to Beth's birthday party."

"Really?" Max was a little surprised. He kept a grip on her hand as they walked back into the main area and found Beth still persistently trying to persuade the cheetah into eating. Her level of concentration for a child of nearly three astonished them sometimes. "They haven't bothered to visit here since our first, not-quite-wedding. Rosie, we sent them a Christmas card with that picture of you, me and Beth and they never said a word about it."

"I think they're just a bit nervous, maybe," she shrugged. "Having a grandkid from the get-go, little baby, is all great and wonderful. But to suddenly have a toddler grandkid," Rosie paused and shrugged again. "That's kind of an adjustment. It was for you at first, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I suppose," Max gave in a little, but was clearly still guarded on the subject. "I just don't want Beth to have high expectations about them being grandparents and then have to see the disappointment in her eyes when they, you know… disappoint her."

"You're too sweet for worrying about that, Max. But maybe they won't disappoint her," Rosie tried to think positively. "They warmed up to me, eventually. You never know till you try."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," he agreed.

Rosie grinned. "I'm always right. So, you'll invite them? It'll mean more coming from you," she gently prodded.

"Sure," Max was still somewhat reluctant, but he agreed. "I'll call them a bit later. I want to take Beth to see the Hippo this morning. She asked specially and I've got the morning off…"

"You're stalling," Rosie poked an accusing finger at his chest. "You can go make a quick call while Beth and I finish feeding the cheetah, and then you can take her to the watering hole to see the Hippo," she declared, pushing softly against his chest. "Go on then," Rosie shooed.

"Alright," he sighed, backing toward the door.

"Watch out," Danny said, nearly smacking into his son-in-law as he came through the door. "You always walk out of doors backward, do you?" he teased the young man.

Max chuckled as he side-stepped his father-in-law. "Only when my wife threatens me," he waved and was off.

Danny eyed his daughter suspiciously as he neared the cheetah cage. "You threatened Max? About what? And why?"

"Just want him to invite his parents to join us next week for Beth's birthday party," Rosie clarified. "It was not a threat. He exaggerates," she shook her head, crouching down beside Beth again. "The cheetah is still not eating, dad."

The man shrugged, though he was disappointed. "Nothing more we can do then; just have to hope she comes around. But right now I could use some help with the Zebra," he slid an x-ray slide onto the screen and illuminated it. "Just as I feared, he's got a rather nasty intestine obstruction and I need to operate. Could use an assist."

"What about Alice?" Rosie was reluctant.

"She went to drop Charlotte at school and then she's having a morning to herself in town," Danny declared. "Women need these sorts of things on occasion, apparently."

Rosie smiled. "Yes, we do," she couldn't help notice the happy grin plastered on her father's face. "You two are doing well then, been on any dates?"

"Alice and me, sure we're great. She and I have our differences of course, but I really care about…" he stopped short, realizing his mistake. "I mean, well… dates? Uh, why would you think that Alice and I would be dating? We're not even really…" Danny's shoulders sagged as he gave up pretenses. "You noticed then, did you?"

"Dad, everyone has noticed," she chuckled.

"Oh," Danny was quiet for a moment as he went to scrub up. "So, are you okay with it? You think it's too soon, right? It is too soon. I mean…"

"No, dad," Rosie stopped him. "Alice is lovely," she let him know her feelings on the matter. "I know I gave you crap when you and Sarah got married but I'm older and wiser now. Well, older anyhow. And I have a better understanding that my mum is never coming back, which I still daydreamed about when you married Sarah. I've grown up," Rosie said with a slightly sad smile as she regarded Beth. "Dad, do you suppose Beth still remembers her mum?" she asked. "I mean, it's been seven months and she's so young, I just wonder…"

He stopped his task and turned to regard his daughter. "I couldn't say for sure. I don't recall anything from when I was three so I imagine her memories will fade with time, but right now," Danny shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I suppose it's possible she remembers her mum a little." Silence fell between them again and Danny realized they'd gotten rather off track. "Now, are you helping me with this procedure or not?" he inquired again.

"I wouldn't be much use to you…" Rosie bit her lip. "I think I should focus on the cheetah today, don't you?" she didn't wait for an answer. "She needs me right now and you know my shoulder is still, well, I'd rather wait a bit longer," she relayed.

Danny sighed with worry as he regarded her. He'd known her long enough to spot when she wasn't being entirely truthful or when something was bothering her. "Rosie, you finished physical therapy nearly six weeks ago and the doctor said you've healed remarkably well. The muscles and nerves don't show any sign of stress."

"Yes, dad, I know what the doctor said, I've been listening to him for months," she diverted her eyes from his challenging gaze. "But I know my own body and I'm telling you I'm not ready for anything more than helping feed the animals and performing minor duties," her voice had raised a little but she calmed down again as she turned to Beth. "Come on, monkey, let's go find daddy," she coaxed, taking the girl by the hand and leading her out of the vet clinic.

Max met them half way to the house. "I did it, no need to check up on me," his hands were raised in a show of surrender. "Talked to my mum and she said they'll be here Friday."

"Good," Rosie was short with him as she let go of Beth's hand and gently nudged the girl toward Max. "Now take Beth to the watering hole like you promised. I have work to do," she concluded, leaving them and heading toward the house rather than back to the animal hospital.

With both hands firmly around Beth's waist, Max lifted her to his hip and kissed her temple. "What's wrong with mummy today?" he asked. "She seems upset."

"Hippo," was all Beth said as she pointed in the direction of the watering hole.

xxx

"No, no, no!" Beth shouted as she squirmed out of Max's hold. "Me want Wosie help!" the child insisted.

For nearly a half hour Max had been struggling to get Beth ready for bed, brushing her teeth, getting her to go potty, and now putting her pajamas on. The girl had been fighting him the entire time and he was about at his wit's end. "Sweetie, mummy is still putting the animals to bed. But if you get in your PJs and settle down in bed then mummy will come in and kiss you goodnight," Max tried to appeal to the girl. "Is it a deal?"

Beth stood before him clad only in her pink and green frog underpants. "No," she shook her head and took off running for the door.

Rosie opened the door only to have something smack into her legs. She looked down to see Beth there, her bottom lip quivering a little. "I'm sorry, monkey," Rosie apologized. "I didn't see you there," she lifted the girl into her arms. Beth burrowed her face against Rosie's shoulder.

"Don't apologize," Max huffed as he tossed Beth PJs on the bed. "She's been impossible tonight," he lamented to his wife. "You just stopped her escape plan."

Biting her lip, Rosie moved further into the small space. Things were still a bit tight in the old surgery that had been converted to a cottage.

They'd moved a bed in for Beth seven months ago and hadn't moved much past that as far as formal living arrangements. There was no money to build an addition and Rosie didn't want to live in town next to the bar. When Max and Rosie needed a little alone time they would send Beth over to the main house for a sleep over in Charlotte's room. It had worked well enough, but it was still no substitute for a real house with at least two private bedrooms.

It was easy to see that Max was tired and not thrilled about dealing with an obstinate toddler. "Bedtime not going so well?"

"She only wants you to help her get her PJs on," Max relayed.

"That's because I let her do it herself," Rosie explained. "She's gotten this sudden independent streak," she went on, settling Beth down in front of the striped pajamas. "Beth wants to do things for herself and we should let her as much as possible."

Max watched for a moment as Beth struggled with the shirt portion of her pajamas, one arm going through the head hole. He also watched as Rosie patiently prodded the girl in the right direction without being upset or short tempered. Unable to watch any longer, Max slipped outside and sat down on the old porch out behind their cottage. The sun was nearly down and a cool breeze blew. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, lost in thought, when Rosie came out to join him.

"She asleep?" Max asked as Rosie settled herself down beside him.

Rosie nodded her head before laying it upon his shoulder and watching the sunset. "Only took two times through the book tonight," she wearily replied.

"I'm sorry I got impatient with Beth earlier," Max apologized as he put an arm about her waist and held her closer. "She may call me daddy but you are by far the better parent."

"That's not true," Rosie insisted. "Max, you're doing great with her."

He shrugged. "She only seems to like me when we're off on some adventure, visiting the hippos or following an ant trail," Max pointed out. "I guess mothers are meant to be the nurturing parent and dads just get to be the fun parent."

"How very stereotypical of you," Rosie pointed out.

"I wouldn't really know from experience," Max lightly defended his point of view. "My dad was never the fun parent. Actually, neither of my parents were much fun, nor were they very nurturing. Not like you, Rosie. You have the whole package, fun and nurturing. You show Beth respect but you also lay down the law when you need to."

The compliment made her feel good even though she was sure her parenting skills were far from perfect. "My dad was loads of fun when he was around," Rosie recalled. "Before mum died he'd be the one to take me out for ice cream dates and adventures at the park. After mum died he buried himself in work so much that I barely got to see him. He did still make time for me, just not as often as I would have liked. But even before I lost my mum, I needed my dad just as much."

Max nodded, getting the meaning behind her words. "I'll do better to be patient with Beth, promise. Somehow I'll find a happy place between being a fun parent and a lay down the law parent," he chuckled. "And here I thought it would be easier jumping in after all of the nappy changing and late night feeding stuff was done."

"Foolish you," Rosie replied. "We still have teenager years ahead."

"Please don't go there yet," Max did not want to think about it. He focused on the tiredness in Rosie's voice as he kissed the spot where her earlobe met her neck. "How many books will it take to put you to sleep tonight?" Max whispered playfully. "Or perhaps some other slightly more strenuous activity might help you fall asleep?" Max teased with desire shinning in his eyes. "We can't really have any fun in our bed with Beth so close, but we do have the whole of the bush here - might give the giraffes something to talk about."

She smiled but made no move toward romance. "I'm worried," Rosie revealed with a weary tone.

He was instantly on alert knowing how infrequent it was for her to talk about things bothering her. "About what, Rosie?"

"Beth," she sighed. "I know the judge originally told us the adoption process could take a while, but the last we heard anything was almost two months ago. And that was just to say that the U.K. authorities were still wrapping up their end of the paperwork," Rosie sighed again. "How long does that take?"

"I've never done this before," Max replied. "But we have two countries and jurisdictions involved. I think we just have to trust the judge and the U.K. authorities. What else can we do?"

With a small shrug Rosie closed her eyes as her head remained against his shoulder. "Nothing, I guess."

"Hey, there's something else I should tell you since we were talking about parents earlier," Max let his hand lazily caress her arm. "My mum rang back."

"They've decided not to come after all?" Rosie guessed, feeling a bit bad for Max's sake. She knew he loved his parents despite all the troubles they'd put him through.

"It's not that. They are still coming to visit," he clarified, "Just a little sooner than previously planned. She said they'd be here on Monday, decided to stay the whole week before Beth's birthday on Saturday," Max relayed the news, hoping it would be alright. "I can ring her in the morning and tell her to stick with arriving Friday," he offered.

Her head shook. "Don't be silly. They're welcome on Monday," Rosie yawned.

A smile upturned the corners of Max's mouth. "I think you're too tired for any of the fun I had planned for our bedtime," he whispered, pressing a kiss against her neck.

"Hmm…" she mumbled, eyes still closed, breathing growing shallower.

"No worries, Rosie," he kept his voice low as she slipped further into the land of slumber. "We'll have our fun some other night. That's a promise," Max declared as he scooped his free arm beneath her legs and lifted her into his embrace. Max carried her inside to their bed, removed her shoes and tucked a blanket around her before he snuggled up beside her.

"Max," her voice was heavily sleepy. "Love you…"

He kissed her temple. "Love you, too."

xxx

The next morning Max plunked Beth down at the kitchen table and kissed her atop the head. "See you later, monkey," he said to the child. "I've got an early delivery arriving this morning," he announced to the table's other occupants, which consisted of Danny, Charlotte, Alice, Evan and Nomsa. "Weekends are always busy," he swiped a piece of buttered toast from the table and took a quick bite before he turned to Nomsa. "Can you watch her until Rosie wakes?" he asked, nodding to Beth.

"Of course," Nomsa easily agreed, already dishing up scrambled eggs for the child.

Danny excused himself from the table and walked with Max to the front door. "Rosie's still asleep?" he inquired.

"Yeah," Max answered. "She was dead tired last night. You must have worked her to the bone at the clinic yesterday."

"No," Danny's head shook as he recalled the aloof way his daughter had reacted to his request for her to join him in surgery. "Rosie fed some of the animals and cleaned a few stalls yesterday, but she wasn't even in the clinic most of the day. I asked her to assist on a surgery but she shot me down, complained about her shoulder again."

Max shrugged off the comments as they exited onto the front porch. "Well, yeah, with the muscle and nerve damage it's been a bit rough for her you know," he dismissed. "Plus all this adoption business has really got her stressed out. And now my parents are coming in on Monday to stay the week and Rosie wants Beth's birthday to be perfect."

Danny was about to nod when he realized the first thing Max had said. "Uh, Rosie's shoulder is fine, Max. No nerve or muscle damage," he relayed.

"You must be mistaken," Max paused at the bottom step, needing to be at the bar for an early delivery, but curious about Danny's pronouncement. "Rosie told me that her shoulder is still too stuffed to do much of anything."

"Max, I spoke to Dr. Harford just a few days ago when we ran into one another in town," Danny tried to tread lightly. "Of course he could never give patient information to me. But he asked about Rosie and I said she was good. And he said he was glad she'd made a full recovery from her gunshot wound."

His face a bit paler, Max gritted his teeth. "Right, right…" he tried to play it off. "I must've heard Rosie wrong. Really gotta run," Max concluded.

"Yeah… have a good one," Danny called after the younger man.

With confusion nestled in his thoughts, Max didn't head toward his truck. He went back to the cottage first. Rosie was still in bed, asleep. As he sat down on the edge of the bed, Max was tempted to wake her and ask what was going on. She looked far too peaceful to have been lying to him for the last few weeks. That thought didn't anger him so much as it did worry him. "Love you," he whispered as he softly kissed her cheek.

Max slipped back outside and walked to his truck. He'd talk to her later.

xxx

Monday afternoon arrived along with a slight cold front.

Max had taken off work early to round up his parents from the airstrip. He, Rosie and Beth sat in the front of the safari jeep since it was the only vehicle large enough for his parents and their things to fit in. As he steered along the dusty track leading to the airstrip, Max glanced over at his wife and Beth. The girl was cuddled on her lap. "Are you ready to meet your new grandparents?" Rosie asked the child. "Daddy's parents are your granddad Henry and nana Beth."

"Me Beth," the girl turned questioning eyes up at Rosie.

"Yes, you're Beth," Rosie assured her. "She's Beth too, just like you. That kind of makes it a special name, don't you think?"

The child shrugged a little, clearly not understanding the full meaning of it all.

A smile spread across Max's face as he listened to Rosie's attempt at explaining things to the girl. He was especially grateful of the way she'd referred to his parents as Beth's granddad and nana. They hadn't really spoken about what Beth would call them, but Max liked the simple terms. Again he hoped that his parents' visit wouldn't disappoint the girl, or himself or Rosie either. His eyes still mostly on the road, Max spared another glance toward Rosie. "Everything okay?" he asked, noticing she looked a bit tired again.

"Sure," her reply came with a small smile.

He wasn't quite convinced of the sincerity behind the response. The weekend had been a whirlwind of activity for the young family. Max stuck at the bar most of the time and Rosie minding Beth on top of desperately trying to nurse a lethargic cheetah back to health. The three of them hadn't seen each other much, which meant he hadn't had a chance to talk to her about her shoulder. Danny's words still echoed in his head as he pondered the best way to broach the subject.

"I just noticed…" Max paused a moment as he maneuvered a rough patch in the road. "You've seemed a bit tired lately," he spoke honestly. "Is it your shoulder bothering you?"

Rosie rested one hand against Beth's waist as the girl remained close between her and Max in the front seat. "My shoulder is okay, not great but…" she shrugged.

Deciding to just go for it, Max revealed what Danny had said to him. "Your dad mentioned the other day that your shoulder was entirely healed and that you shouldn't have any issues with it. But you told me there was still damage. So I guess I'm just a little confused about it all."

Her back straightened and Max could tell she was transitioning into a defensive pose. He'd seen it plenty of times before. "Like I told my dad, it's my body and I know that my shoulder isn't completely well even if the doctor seems to think so," Rosie concluded in an even tone of voice.

The airstrip came into view as Max nodded. He decided it best not to push matters with his obviously touchy wife, especially with his parents about to be tossed into the mix. "You know I don't mean to pester you, Rosie. I just want to do whatever I can to help you. If you need my help," he gently offered.

With a genuine smile she reached across the seat and squeezed Max's thigh as he pulled to a stop at the end of the airstrip.

"Bethy, look there," Max lifted the girl to his lap and pointed against a small dark spot on the horizon. "I think that's them."

"That a awplane?" Beth asked as she stood on Max's legs to get a better look at the object drawing nearer.

"It is an airplane," Rosie replied to the inquisitive child.

The three of them watched as the plane drew closer and touched down at the end opposite from where they were parked. The tiny plane was white with a blue stripe and tail numbers painted in black. It taxied a long way as the motor's engine turbines slowed and eventually stopped all together. By that time the plane was at the end of the runway where Max had parked. Max got out and held Beth at his hip as Rosie joined them around the other side of the jeep.

Henry and Beth exited the small craft, hair blowing and clothing flapping as a slightly cool wind kicked up. The pilot helped with their luggage. As the three of them moved toward the jeep, Beth reached out for Rosie. Max let the child go, knowing she usually sought comfort with Rosie. It seemed meeting his parents called for a bit of comforting. Not that he could really blame the child. They could be intimidating even for his grown adult self. Max put on a happy face as he hugged his mother and then shook hands with his dad.

Rosie kissed little Beth reassuringly before putting the girl down so she could greet her in-laws. She hugged her mother-in-law and then Henry.

"Thanks for inviting us, Max," Henry spoke even as his eyes shifted to Rosie. "Though I imagine the idea was more yours than his," he questioned his daughter-in-law.

"Guilty," Rosie grinned.

Beth smiled as she glanced down at the little girl huddled behind Rosie. "I'm glad you invited us. I know we haven't said much about your plans to adopt, for that I apologize. I guess we always imagined our first grandchild would be born of…" the woman trailed off, instantly feeling bad for what she'd started to say. "She's a bit shy I take it?"

With a nod, Rosie put a hand against little Beth's back. "Hey, monkey," she spoke softly to the girl. "Remember I said you were going to meet your grandparents? Can you say hi?"

"Hi," her greeting was a shy, breathy whisper as she remained huddled beside Rosie, clinging to her leg.

"It's very nice to meet you, Beth," Henry replied to the girl's effort.

Rosie chuckled. "You sound just like Max did when we first brought Beth to Leopard's Den, so formal. Didn't you learn last time you were here that we are not a very formal bunch?"

Henry laughed as well. "Yes, I suppose I did," he nodded. "Shall we get going then?" The elder Gifthold tipped the pilot for his help and then they all road back to Leopard's Den, little Beth still being shy most of the way and clinging to Rosie's side.

Everyone was waiting for them when they arrived. Even Nomsa had a gracious smile for Henry. "I have prepared a lunch for us all," she announced. "Before you go to Mara I thought you might like to eat something," Nomsa offered.

"Very kind of you," Henry nodded his agreement.

The group was about to head in to the house when a taxi arrived out front.

"We're not due to have any other guests for a week," Danny noted as a woman stepped out of the taxi.

She was short and slim, cropped blonde hair that was slightly graying. She wore a wide-brimmed hat that she had to hold against her head as the wind picked up. The taxi driver removed one medium sized rolling bag from his car and waited for the woman to pay him. Danny put it upon himself to speak to the woman before the taxi departed, not wanting her stranded if she was indeed lost. "Can I help you with something?" Danny inquired.

"Mara Lodge is a ways down the road," Alice added, having joined Danny.

"No," the woman shook her head. "This is the place I'm meant to be. Leopard's Den isn't it?" her English accent was unmistakable.

"Well, yes," Danny nodded. "Did you have a booking here?"

"Sorry, no," the woman had yet to introduce herself by name. "I came here rather on the spur of the moment."

Rosie, Max and his parents crept closer, intrigued by the mysterious woman. "Any reason in particular that you chose this place?" Rosie asked, eyeing the woman's expensive shoes and jewelry. "I think you'd be much better suited to stay at Mara." There was an air about the woman that made Rosie slightly uncomfortable.

The woman's head shook again. "No, this is where I need to be. Perhaps you can tell me where to find Max and Rosie Gifthold," she looked Rosie in the eye as she spoke.

Max stepped forward a little, as if to protect his wife from the woman. "I'm Max," he said. "And this is my wife, Rosie," he motioned.

"My name is Natalie Cook," the woman finally announced as she spotted the little girl latched to Rosie's leg. "I'm Mathew Webster's mother."

That was a name that caused Rosie's stomach to rise into her throat. "Matthew Webster," she practically whispered the name, easily seeing the man's gentile face on the DVD with his wife Abigail and their tiny bundle of a daughter, Beth. Rosie felt Max's arm snake about her waist and she was grateful of the support because she feared her entire world was about to shatter. "Why are you… what brings you to Leopard's Den?" Rosie bravely asked, though she feared the answer.

"I've come to take my granddaughter, Beth, back to England with me," Natalie declared.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 2**

By  
N. J. Borba

* * *

Rosie glanced around the rather cramped lounge room and sighed.

On the sofa across from her sat Max's parents. Dup hovered behind the sofa, shifting his feet, not hiding his distaste for the woman calling herself Natalie. Danny stood on the opposite side of the room from Du Plessis. Thankfully, Alice had ushered Charlotte and Evan off to the animal hospital to help her, though mostly it had been a ruse to keep them out of the already tense enough gathering. In an arm chair in one corner, Natalie Cook sat eyeing Max and Rosie. But mainly she was trying to catch the eye of the child curled upon Rosie's lap.

Max stood behind his wife and Beth, one hand pressed firmly against Rosie's left shoulder as though he were on guard.

It was the oddest, most uncomfortable family reunion Rosie had ever attended. And given her and Max's assortment of relatives that was saying a lot.

"So, Natalie…" Danny was typically good about being friendly, until given a reason not to be. "What sort of work do you do?" he asked the most blasé question he could think of.

"Or do you work at all?" Dup added his own inquire, easily noticing the woman's perfectly polished appearance.

The woman in question wore a demure smile as she spoke, folding her finely manicured fingernails atop her lap. "I married well," her words were sharp and pointed toward Rosie. Her gaze shifted to Max for a moment. "No need for work," she returned her eyes to Rosie, clearly implying that they were far from well off.

It turned Rosie's stomach to hear the woman put down her family in such an underhanded way. She and Max had made a point of not needing help from Danny or Max's parents. And she was trying to be understanding and diplomatic for Beth's sake, but Rosie wasn't coping so well. "Why are you here, now?" she finally asked. "Matthew and his wife passed away over seven months ago and you've just decided to swoop in now to take Beth?"

Natalie kept her eyes aimed on Rosie. Her composure remained perfectly honed. "My history with Matthew is really not of your concern."

"Huh, really?" Rosie frowned. "Well, no offense, but yes it is my concern. Max and I have started the adoption process. Beth calls Max daddy. We've been Beth's parents in every way except legally for the last seven months of her life. Where the hell were you?" she snapped at the woman.

"Rosie," Danny stepped forward, worried he might need to restrain his daughter.

It was Max who calmed Rosie with the simplicity of his gentle squeeze against her good shoulder. "We're all a bit shocked at the moment," he spoke to Natalie. "I apologize."

"No need, dear," Natalie smiled warmly at Max now.

Her transparent smile sent Rosie into another fit of upset stomach. "Natalie, I apologize as well," she said through slightly gritted teeth. "I'm just trying to understand what's going on here. As far as I know Matthew grew up in an orphan home so I'm not sure how you factor in to any of this."

With a slight slump of her shoulders, the first outwardly slip of her composure, Natalie began to explain some of her past. "I was very young when Matthew was born, just a child myself, really," she revealed. "I gave him up for adoption thinking, hoping, he'd have a better life than he would have had with me."

"But he lived in an orphan home," Rosie reiterated. "That's not adoption."

"I left him at a church in East London," Natalie's tone grew a bit defensive. "I was not to know he'd never find a good home."

Rosie relented a little upon seeing some small note of genuine emotion in the woman's eyes. "Okay," she eased her tone. "So how did you find out about his death and Beth being here in South Africa with us? The UK authorities have searched for months and claimed to have found no family for either Matthew or Abigail."

Natalie's lips twisted as she nervously fiddled with her hands, her poise slipping further. "I'd tried for years to find out what had happened to my little baby…" she paused. "The orphan home wouldn't reveal details to me. So when I married and had enough money, I began a private search. I only discovered the truth about Matthew a few weeks ago. It was too late."

The room fell silent for quite a long time before Nomsa arrived in the doorway with a tray of glasses filled with lemonade.

Nomsa silently passed them around and everyone took small sips of the cool liquid. "Do you have a place arranged to stay?" it was Max's father, Henry, who posed the question to Natalie. "We've made a booking over at Mara, but you're welcome to it if you like. Beth and I can stay out at one of the tents again like we did last time we visited," the man turned to Danny to see if that was an arrangement that could be made.

"Yes, of course," Danny nodded.

Max shared a brief glance with Rosie upon his father's declaration. Both of them knew how horribly that first visit had gone. But they were buoyed a little by his parent's current visit, even though it had started off with an unfortunate bang. "The lodge is available for you," Rosie smiled as she faced Max's parents. They'd seen her as nothing more as a poor girl upon their first meeting, but Rosie knew things had changed a little between them since then. Their visit with them at the Cape shortly after their official wedding had been a good one.

"That's very kind of you," Natalie nodded in acceptance to Henry's offer. "I hadn't thought about accommodations. I was too eager to see my granddaughter."

Rosie felt the little girl on her lap stir, though her face remained hidden against Rosie's chest. Part of her was glad of Beth's shyness and resistance to Natalie. She was happy to have the girl on her side, though she knew it was more a matter of being familiar with Max and her and shy to any strangers. In time, if Natalie were to take Beth back to England with her, Rosie imagined the girl would learn to forget them and embrace Natalie as her family.

With a gentle motion, Max reached down and swiped away a tear that had rolled down Rosie's cheek.

She glanced up at him, not even realizing the tear had fallen. Max crouched down a little and whispered in her ear, "We'll figure this out, Rosie. Don't worry."

"I think we could all use a bit of a rest and some freshening up," Max's mother announced as she placed her lemonade glass on a nearby table and stood. "We've all had long journeys to get here, some of them much longer than others," she pointed a genial smile toward Natalie, hoping to dissolve some of the tension in the room. "Mr. Du Plessis," Beth turned to Anders. "Perhaps you could drive us all to our accommodations?" she suggested.

Dup didn't reply as he remained focused on the Natalie woman, not so sure of her presence. Danny edged his way across the room and nudged Dup in the belly to stop his staring at their guest. "Yeah, sure," Du Plessis finally agreed.

With a heavy, slightly limping step, Dup guided their three guests outside toward the 4x4. Danny made his way over to Rosie as Nomsa cleared the lemonade glasses. He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "Hang in there, love," he tried to say something supportive. "I'm sure this will all sort itself out with a bit of time."

"Thanks, dad," Rosie managed to smile a little as she watched her father head for the animal hospital.

That left the small family of three alone in the room.

Max went round and crouched in front of Rosie, his hands against her knees. "What do you think of her?"

A sigh escaped her lips at first. Then a shrug raised her shoulders. "I don't know really. She seemed very snooty at first but I did see some humanity in her when she spoke of her baby and giving him up," Rosie knew that must have been one of the hardest decisions of the woman's life. She knew it would have been agonizing for her, as the thought of losing Beth was nearly petrifying to her. "But we still know nothing about her," Rosie added with a bit of fighting spirit."

Her husband nodded his agreement. "We don't have money for a private detective like Natalie, but we can talk to Captain Yeboah. He'll be able to get some background information on her and we can check out her story, see if there's any truth to it."

"Daddy…" Beth finally pulled away from Rosie a little. "Wanna see ants now."

"I almost forgot," Max smiled as he took Beth from Rosie. "We did have a date to track some ants," he recalled.

Rosie smiled for the first time since Natalie had shown up. "You two go and have fun. I should check on the cheetah." She stood and made a move toward the door.

With one hand against her forearm, Max stopped her. "Try not to worry too much," he said before his lips brushed against hers.

A slightly more relaxed nod preceded her reply. "I'll try," Rosie said.

"Promise?" Max persisted.

She chuckled softly. "Yeah, it's a promise."

xxx

After an afternoon of work, fretting for some and resting for others, they ate their evening meal on the side porch that night.

Max's parents joined them so they'd had to push two tables together for everyone to gather. Beth had eased her shyness a little around her new grandparents. The little girl even sat between Rosie and Henry, her big blue eyes catching the older man's from time to time. She grinned brightly when he softly stoked her cheek. Max had watched the scene with a mixture of jealousy and delight. His father had never been so at ease with him or William. But Max was glad to see the playfulness come out in his father for Beth's sake.

They hadn't heard anything from Natalie Cook again, prompting Rosie to nearly have forgotten about the woman.

But as Captain Yeboah's vehicle pulled up to the house Rosie sighed in defeat.

"Yeboah, welcome," it was Max who jumped up and first greeted the man with a handshake. "I didn't think you'd be able to respond so quickly to our request."

The man gave a tense nod. "I had not planned to drive out tonight. I was prepared to call you back in the morning and get things underway," Yeboah explained. "I will gladly look in to this woman's background for you," the officer agreed. His eyes turned downward a bit and his shoulders sagged as he spoke the next few words. "Unfortunately, I came out here tonight to deliver some bad news. Natalie Cook has filed a petition with the courts just this afternoon to take over legal custody of Beth. I wanted to tell you in person," he concluded.

That news put a sour feeling in all of their stomachs as the forks came to rest against their plates.

Max regarded Rosie, watching her heartbreak reflected in the way she clung to Beth. "Thank you," he managed to squeeze the words out as he spoke to Yeboah. "We appreciate you taking the time to delivering the news personally."

"I will be in touch," Yeboah replied as he walked back to his vehicle and drove off down the dusty path.

There was very little else to be said as they all returned to their meal, although not very much eating occurred.

xxx

The following morning, Max entered the cottage and found Rosie helping Beth get her shoes on.

He'd made an early run to town to check on the bar before planning some family time for the remainder of the day. Max watched the two of them for a moment, delighted in the patient way Rosie tried to teach the young girl how to tie the laces. "This is how my dad taught me when I was about your age," Rosie explained. "You make one loop on the right, which we liked to call a bunny ear. And another bunny ear on the left," she carefully demonstrated the process. "Then you loop one ear over the other… pull through the hole and…"

Beth actually made a face, her brows slightly arched and her lips quirked to one side in confusion.

"You know, on second thought, I think I might have been more like four or five before I learned that," Rosie flashed a reassuring smile at the girl and finished tying the shoes. "All done," she kissed Beth atop her head. "Now go and get your crayons and paper, monkey. You're going to color while I tend to the animals." Rosie gently pushed the girl toward the other side of the room where her things were arranged in a small cupboard that Max had painted pink.

With the girl out of the way, Max snuck up behind his wife and kissed her cheek without touching her elsewhere.

"Jeez!" Rosie jumped out of the way and spun to face him. "Way to scare the…" she stopped short of any swear words and settled for slapping her husband's arm.

"Sorry," he apologized even as he sported a large grin. "I just wanted to let you know that Dup and I are taking my parents out on a game drive this morning," Max revealed. "Do you and Beth feel up for it? My mom asked specifically if you'd join us."

"No, sorry," Rosie hated to disappoint him or his parents when they were obviously making an effort to get along and play happy family. "Max, I really can't. Dad and Alice had to go out to a farm about two hours west of here to vaccinate a herd of cattle. They'll probably be gone all day so I've got to keep things running here."

Doing his best to hide his disappointment, Max nodded. "S'okay," he drawled. "We'll take Beth with us then, keep her out of your way. I can pack a few things for her, she'll be fine."

"What do you say, monkey, you want to go with Dup and daddy and your grandparents to see the animals?" Rosie asked as Beth approached with her favorite pad of paper and rainbow of crayons in a plastic box.

"Me stay, Wosie," the little girl clung to Rosie's leg with her free arm. Her big blue eyes stared up at Rosie. "Feed animals wif you, Wosie? Pwease?"

Rosie looked to Max. "How could I refuse such an offer?

Again Max was disappointed, but he was okay with it. "Sure you'll be fine here with Beth and the hospital to run? I could stay," he offered.

"Don't be silly," Rosie's head shook. "I can handle Beth and the hospital at least for the morning while you're gone. You should spend time with your parents," she insisted.

"I thought the plan was for them to be here to spend time with Beth, get to know her and all that," Max replied.

"And they obviously want to, they invited us all along this morning," Rosie pointed out. "I can't help that Beth is clingy today, you know she has her moments of shyness and after what happened yesterday with that woman…" she trailed off, realizing Natalie would probably be back at some point to try and hash things out again, especially since she'd gone as far as petitioning the courts. "You can't force this stuff, Max."

Max sighed but he wrapped his arms about her and held her tight for a moment, "Yeah, I guess you're right," he reluctantly pulled out of the embrace and patted Beth on the head. "Be good for mum today," Max smiled at the girl. He turned to Rosie again and said, "Love you," before he slipped out the door.

"Love you, too!" she called after him.

Rosie and Beth waved to Max as he took off. They headed out to the hospital a short distance from the cottage and Beth easily settled down with her art supplies in the corner of the office area. Rosie spoke to her as she washed her hands at the large sink. "What animal are you going to draw for me today?"

"Um…" Beth took her time to think about it. "Birdy," she decided.

"Excellent choice," Rosie chuckled softly, amazed at how easy she got on with the child most of the time. There were still moments when Beth acted up and she and Max both wanted to throw their hands up. But they'd pushed through seven months of parenthood without too much trouble. Rosie hoped they'd be able to make it another fifteen or so years.

The office phone rang before Rosie could even make it to the animal pens. "Hello?" she picked up, forgoing the hospitals title or even a mention of Leopard's Den. "Hey, Vanessa, how are you…" Rosie listened as the woman cut her off, clearly not in the mood for small talk. "Yeah, well, I'm the only one here right now but…" she listened again as Vanessa practically begged for her help. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can."

After hanging up the phone, Rosie squatted next to Beth. "Pack up, monkey," she instructed. "We have a stray cheetah problem at Mara and since Nomsa is in town doing the shopping, you get to come along with me," she helped the girl grab her supplies and tucked them into a bag. After grabbing a med kit, the tranquilizer gun, some bottled water and a few snack bars, the two of them were ready to take off.

A car pulled up to Leopard's Den just as Rosie was steering her jeep away. She stopped beside the vehicle seeing it was a taxi.

Natalie stepped out and waved at Rosie. She wore highly impractically shoes, heels. Expensive looking linen shirt and snappy trousers. "I was hoping to speak with you, Rosie," the woman turned to eye Beth. "And get to know my granddaughter better."

"We have an animal emergency out at Mara," Rosie didn't waste too many words on the woman, but she tried to be polite even though Natalie clearly hadn't dared to mention her custody petition yet. Rosie guessed that would be used against them at some later point.

"I've just come from Mara," Natalie seemed surprised. "I didn't hear of any emergency."

"A rogue cheetah running around the grounds of a major game park and resort is not the sort of thing you want to advertise to guests," Rosie snapped.

The woman's eyes revealed her level of discomfort upon hearing such a thing. "And you're taking my granddaughter to deal with this issue?" she seemed upset. "I can stay with her here," Natalie suggested.

Rosie sighed. "No offense, but I have no idea who you are. I'm not leaving you alone with my daughter."

"No offense taken, however, she's not your daughter yet," Natalie returned with a sharp tongue. "But to show I'm reasonable, I'll just ride along with you," she didn't wait for a response as she jumped up in to the jeep and settled herself next to Beth.

The little girl scooted closer to Rosie and buried her face against Rosie's waist.

Knowing time was of importance, Rosie didn't argue with Natalie. They rode to Mara without a word between them.

"I don't understand it," Vanessa spoke as she greeted Rosie. She immediately dragged her away from the jeep toward the rear of the main building. "The cheetahs never come close to the guests, not once since I've been here. The zebras and giraffes, yes, they hang around all the time. But not the cats," Vanessa huffed in defeat.

"Most likely she's hungry or hurt," Rosie concluded.

"We've plenty of game for them to hunt on the grounds," Vanessa protested.

The small group of them approached the area where the cheetah was stalking back and forth. Rosie stopped to watch her for a moment. The female cheetah was young, but Rosie quickly caught sight of something distinctive. "I think she might be pregnant, and in labor," Rosie announced.

"Really?" Vanessa was surprised. "Don't they usually give birth away from human contact?"

"Usually," Rosie nodded. "But this girl is very young, probably scared and not sure what's going on. Could be she never had much of a family unit to show her the way of things," Rosie reasoned. "Not all wild animals have animal instincts, especially when they're so young."

"Is she a danger?" Natalie asked.

Rosie nodded. "Could be. She could also be in danger herself. A cheetah so young giving birth could have complications, and just plain inexperience could have her panicky, which is probably why she's here. I don't know for sure," Rosie shrugged. "I really need to get closer."

"We should contact Danny and Alice," Vanessa expressed.

With a shake of her head, Rosie disagreed. "I don't think we have time to call. I'm pretty sure right now our best chance is to dart her with a very mild sedative and help her through the birth. We'll need a sling, some towels and a quiet place to take her. Somewhere secure."

Vanessa nodded and dashed off to find some of the things needed.

Beth stayed close to Rosie as they edged toward the cheetah. The lone cheetah paced back and forth in an anxious manner, her breathing heavy. Each pant grew louder as they approached as slowly as possible. "Easy girl," Rosie gently spoke to the animal. "We're going to get you some help. Women go through this all the time. You'll be fine."

"Should Beth be so close to that animal?" Natalie asked as she remained a safer distance away.

As Rosie glanced down at Beth she had to agree that it wasn't the best place for the child to be. "Could you take her back a little ways from here?" she asked of Natalie. Unfortunately there was no one else around at the moment. "Bethy, I need you to move back a little, go with Natalie for me. Can you do that, please?"

The little girl's bottom lip trembled as she turned and eyed Natalie. Slowly, Beth took a step away from Rosie and grasped Natalie's hand.

"Here," Vanessa announced as she returned with towels and a sling.

Rosie got to her knees just a few paces from the cheetah and aimed her tranquilizer gun upon the animal. The cheetah sensed something was different. She spun around on her back paws and lunged toward Rosie. With the animal charging toward her, Rosie froze for a split second. She flashed back to the image of a ragging elephant coming toward her. But Rosie broke from that memory quickly and pulled the trigger. The cheetah stopped short and grew woozy almost instantly.

With Vanessa's help, Rosie maneuvered the cheetah on to the sling and they hefted her back to the animal clinic at Mara's east wing. Rosie made sure Beth was nearby at all times. She spotted the girl in the corner of her eye as Natalie held the child's hand and guided her toward the clinic. Rosie pushed past her desire to be upset that Beth was obeying her by sticking close to Natalie. It was what she'd asked of the girl. But it didn't make it any easier to take.

"Will she be all right?" Natalie inquired.

"The hard part is still to come," Rosie called over her shoulder as she noticed just how much the cat was suffering through the pains of heavy labor. The four females stayed in the clinic for a half hour with the cheetah until Rosie realized the young cat could not cope on her own. "The cub is too big for this young mother to birth properly. I'll have to open her up, cesarean," she announced.

"Are you allowed to do that?" Vanessa asked.

"Do you know how to do that?" Natalie added.

"I have no other choice," was all Rosie said in response as she scrubbed up. She took a few deep breaths in order to summon her courage. She was far from a qualified vet but she'd helped her dad when Jana had similar issues during birth. Rosie performed the surgery needed and delivered a small but breathing male cheetah cub. The mother remained in decent enough shape that she was able to stitch her up and allowed her a decent rest.

"They'll be okay?" Vanessa inquired.

"I'd like to take them back to Leopard's Den to monitor them," Rosie spoke as she striped off her surgery scrubs. "But, yeah, I think they'll be fine."

"Of course," Vanessa nodded her agreement. "Whatever you need."

They let the young mother cheetah rest for another hour before loading her and the cub into a cage and into the back of Rosie's jeep. On the drive back to Leopard's Den, Natalie was quiet again. But Rosie was disheartened to see that Beth had fallen asleep against the older woman's side. Back home, Natalie offered to carry Beth to her bed. Rosie wanted to protest but she was distracted by her desire to get the cheetah and her cub settled in.

Once the animals were stable, Rosie walked to the cottage.

Natalie was waiting for her on the small front stoop. "This is where you live?" the woman asked. "This is where Beth sleeps? She has no proper bedroom in there."

"She has a bed and toys, clothing, food and two parents who love her," Rosie was far too tired for a fight.

The older woman frowned as she tapped her manicured nails against the porch rail. "With me she'll have so much more. A room of her own, a huge room with any sort of fancy sheets and comforter set she could desire. Great food, the finest clothing in London's child boutiques," Natalie prattled on.

"Really?" Rosie's tone was a bit sarcastic at first but she did her best to curb it. "So you and your husband are happily married?" Rosie finally dared to ask more about the woman's life. "Did you have any more children other than Matthew?"

"No," Natalie's head shook. "I never had more children," she left it at that. "My husband is Arthur Cook, maybe you've heard of him? He owns a dozen restaurants in London. Not a chain, individual restaurants. He makes a lot of money and I am not too bad at spending it. He married very young and has three children from his first marriage. We met several years ago when I was a waitress at a restaurant in Westchester. He was completely charming and swept me off my feet."

Natalie waited for some response from Rosie but none came. "I have time; I have money, plenty to offer a little girl. She'll have a good life, never want for anything."

"She doesn't want for anything here," Rosie grew angry at the implication and defended her position. "Bethy loves life here. Do you know her favorite color is pink because in some ways she is very much a little princess, but she also loves to track ants on her hands and knees?" Rosie challenged. "Do you know one of her favorite things to do is visit the hippo at our watering hole? But her most favorite thing is to climb in bed with Max and me in the morning. We all have a cuddle before the day begins. We watch the sunrise together."

Rosie did her best to swallow the emotional lump in her throat. "Max and Beth taught me to love sunrise," she concluded.

The older woman's back was ridged, taking on the challenge. "I understand that you've grown attached to Beth. I can see that you care very much for her and have treated her quite well, at least as well as you can. And I'm sorry you feel like I'm the one to blame for taking her away from you, but she was never yours to begin with."

"You've never taken care of a three year old child and you want to take that on now?" Rosie wasn't ready to let it go just yet. And she noticed Natalie had never answered when she'd asked about her and her husband being happily married.

"A lot of grandparents raise their grandchildren these days," Natalie returned. "I'm not as old as you may think me to be."

"It's not a matter of age," Rosie grew defensive.

Natalie's lips pursed, clearly doubtful of Rosie's words. "Then what is it a matter of?"

"Heart," Rosie was quick to reply. "You can't just want to raise Beth because she's the flesh and blood of the son you never got to know. You have to want to raise her because you feel in your heart that it's what you were put on this planet to do. I felt that about Beth almost instantly. I didn't give birth to her, but I pulled her out of a pile of rocks. It was dark, I was following my gut instinct, I wasn't sure if she was a boy or a girl at first but it didn't matter to me as long as she survived and was healthy. I stayed with her, I encouraged her, and I gave her life that day. I gave life back to her."

The woman tried to think of a response to that but faltered a bit. "I thank you for saving her life. I do."

Rosie sighed despite the woman's kind words. "I was shot in the shoulder trying to keep two men away from Beth," she continued. "I would've died for that little girl, and where were you?" she allowed accusation back into her tone.

Dup's jeep pulled up to the main house and stopped there. Max and his parents got out, all eyes instantly aimed toward Rosie and Natalie.

"Maybe if I'd known about my grandchild sooner I would've risked my life for her as well," Natalie returned with a heated voice raised high enough for the others to overhear. "You'll be hearing from my solicitor very soon. I plan to have papers drawn up immediately to get Beth away from this place. I expect to take her back to England as soon as the end of this week," Natalie declared as a taxi pulled up nearby. "I called for the car while you were tending to the animal, more concerned over it than Beth," she accused.

"That is not true," Rosie sighed, throwing up one hand in exasperation. "I…"

"I…" Natalie interrupted her. "Have nothing more to say to you right now. Our solicitors will speak," she concluded, taking off across the yard toward the taxi.

Max took a step toward his wife, but his mother stopped him. "Could I?" Beth asked.

The young man nodded, somewhat intrigued by his mother's offer.

Beth walked to the cottage and put a hand against Rosie's back. The older woman guided her inside and the two of them sat in wicker chairs just inside the door. Little Beth was still resting on her bed, overtaken by sleep after an exhausting morning. "I take it things didn't go well," Max's mother was blunt.

"Not at all," Rosie lamented. "We're going to lose her," her eyes slipped to the small form of the girl in bed, the child her and Max called their little monkey. "The only other times I've felt this helpless were when I lost my mother and my…" Rosie pinched off her tears. "And me and Max's baby."

The older woman sat there for a moment with her daughter-in-law. She took Rosie's hand and patted it in a motherly manner. "I'd like to share something with you, Rosie. It's not something I ever told Max or William," Beth took a deep breath. "There was a baby between them. A child Henry and I lost. A little girl. Stillborn."

Those words caused Rosie's tears to fall. "I'm so sorry."

"Henry and I nearly fell apart after that," Beth revealed. "But at least we had Max," she smiled happily. "He was just two years old, he doesn't remember me being pregnant or losing the baby. He was such a sweet little thing. I remember he loved bananas at that age," Beth chuckled softly. "Actually, he went through a phase where he'd only eat food if it was yellow, so bananas, corn… things of that sort."

The older woman regarded her daughter-in-law for a moment. "Rosie, I know it wasn't my first baby," she acknowledged. "I imagine that must have been awful for you. At least I had my little Max to get me through. His goofy smile could always brighten my darkest of days. Just like I imagine Beth lightens your days."

"I just can't imagine her not being here with us," Rosie spoke softly, swiping away tears. "I think losing her might even be worse than when we lost the baby," she admitted.

Beth squeezed her hand. "I won't say it wouldn't be devastating. But I do imagine you might pull through it. However, Henry and I have no plans to allow that to happen. If there's anything we can do, anything you need. Money, support, a good solicitor… you just name it. You'll look to us for help," she implored.

"Thank you, I will," Rosie smiled softly.

"You mean that? You're not just saying it to appease me, right? Is it a promise?" Beth asked.

Rosie chuckled a little. "Now I see Max in you. Persistent. And yes, I promise."

xxx

Later that night after Beth had fallen asleep again, Max and Rosie lay cuddled in bed.

"You talked to mum this afternoon?" Max asked as his fingertips danced lazily across her shoulder. He kissed her neck as moonlight slipped through the cracks where the window coverings gaped. Pale light washed over her face casting one side in shadow and the other in hazy white light.

Rosie pressed her cheek against his chest, languishing in the touch of his soft kisses and fingertips brushing hair off her shoulder. She'd first only seen Max as something desirous, a young new man in town to be ogled. And he'd been attached at the time so the forbidden aspect of it all had made the game much more exciting. But somewhere along the line their playful flirtations had grown, matured. They'd married and endured loss. They'd dangled on the edge of collapse and climbed back over.

She hoped all of that had made them stronger. Rosie knew it had made her love Max even more than she thought possible.

"Yeah, she was surprisingly supportive and a comfort," Rosie finally responded, broken from her thoughts.

"That is surprising," he narrowed his eyes, a bit suspicious.

A smile lit her lips as she faced him. "Give them a chance, Max. Please? I think they're really trying this time."

"I'm trying too," he was somewhat defensive. "So what happened with Natalie?" Max quickly transitioned to another topic. The topic they both had been avoiding all evening.

"Everything that could've gone wrong did," Rosie lamented. "I don't know what to think, Max. I mean… maybe she's right. Natalie could have a point. Maybe Beth deserves to grow up in a better place than this. Maybe she needs expensive clothes and fancy schools and money."

Max pulled away, shifted to his side so he could look her in the eye. "You don't believe any of what you just said, Rosie. I know you don't." He reached out and gently caressed her cheek. "This place is great; it gets under your skin. I should know. I came here to start a small business, thought it would set me off on some other larger path eventually. But I got caught up here. I fell in love here, got married here. Beth is learning so much being here with us. Today with what you did for that cheetah."

Rosie shrugged. "But is that the sort of life she should have if she could have more?"

"Don't sell us short, Rosie. Beth has everything a kid needs right here with me and you." Max could see the doubt still swimming about in her dark eyes. "I had a thought today and I made a plan," he smiled. "A getaway for the two of us."

"Our anniversary isn't for two months yet," Rosie replied. "And you know I can't get away. I have…"

"Responsibilities," Max supplied. "Yes, I know. That's why you have all of tomorrow to take care of anything that needs tending before we head out. Danny and Alice will be here to tend the hospital while you're gone."

"But we can't just leave," Rosie protested.

"Why not?"

"Because."

He chuckled but shook his head. "That's not a valid answer."

She frowned, realizing that had been a rather childish response. "What about Beth?"

"My mum? I doubt she'll mind if we take off for a few days."

Rosie couldn't help laughing at his cheekiness. "You know I mean our little monkey girl. We've never left her alone and gone off somewhere."

"We've left her at the main house overnight before," Max pointed out. "Of course it has been a very long stretch since we've found the time to do that," he leaned in to her again and captured her lips with his own. They clung to one another for a moment, but Max could tell Rosie's whole heart wasn't in to it. "Come on, Rosie, you need to relax. I'm taking you away from here and don't try to argue. We'll spend Thursday and Friday night, but we'll be back by Saturday morning for Beth's birthday party."

"Where would we go?" she asked.

Max sensed she was ready to cave, but he didn't want to give much away. "Not too far from here, but it's a secret."

Her eyes narrowed. "I swear, Max Gifthold, if this is another barmaid stint at a game auction you are going to lose some precious items from your anatomy," Rosie gently warned.

He chuckled and kissed her again. "This time, as far as what to pack goes… well, let's just say that clothing is optional."

She bit her lip. "It seems like a nice idea, Max, really…"

"But?" he could sense his wife was wavering.

"It's just not the right time," Rosie let her feelings be known. "Maybe after all this stuff with Natalie blows over."

"No maybes. We need this right now, Rosie," Max huffed as he rolled away from her.

Rosie turned to face his back. Her hand reached for his shoulder, gently trying to coax him back over to her side of the bed. "Don't be upset. I'm not saying I don't want to go, just not right now," she felt his body tense more. "Max, please don't be cross about this," Rosie pleaded. "Max?" she tried again.

Still he gave no response. Rosie's eyes closed, defeated. She fell asleep with her hand against his back and regret in her heart.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 3**

By  
N. J. Borba

* * *

A black-bellied starling twittered persistently, his lively tune wafting haphazardly across the stretch of land between the house and the vet clinic.

Dup held little Beth's hand as they walked. From the east a small gust of wind kicked up a cloud of dust and Dup turned his eyes upward toward the clear blue sky.

"Storm on the wind," he spoke knowingly to the girl. "Doesn't look like it now, but trust me it'll be rolling in soon enough. I can feel it in my old bones. You wouldn't know about old bones, though, young thing like you." They walked slowly toward the animal hospital, even though slow and walking were rarely words that could be associated with the small child. Dup was pretty sure he'd never seen her move if it wasn't a full out trot, skip or even a continuous string of jumps.

"What's wrong with you this morning, cheetah girl?" Dup spoke with a rare note of gentleness to the child. Beth had easily won a spot in his heart, much the same as Rosie, Olivia, Charlotte, and of course his dear little granddaughter Amber. As much as he enjoyed Evan and Kirk's company, and doing manly things, he also had a big squishy soft spot for the girls in his life. "You love seeing the animals at the hospital," he pointed out to the girl.

Beth glanced up at him, round blue eyes glistening against the morning sun. "No Wosie," the child whispered somberly.

Dup nodded. "Nah, Rosie won't be out there," he confirmed. "Your mum and dad went away for the day. You see, they need some time alone to... Well, it's a grown-up thing that might be hard for you to understand right now. But one of these days you'll find yourself all grown up and desiring time with boys on your own. Then you'll understand," Dup said. "Of course you mixing with boys best be a long, long way into the future. You hear?"

With a small spring in her step, Beth chuckled and tugged at his hand a little as she moved faster.

"Nah, you probably don't understand," the old man continued. "I know life must be pretty confusing for you, little one. All this stuff with Natalie here and your parents – well, your first parents – you know, them being gone. And Max and Rosie as your parents now," Dup realized he was rambling. "I'm not much good at figuring all this sort of thing out. You know who would be, though… that's Caroline. If she were here we'd have this mess all taken care of by now."

"Cawoline?" Beth looked up at him with questioning eyes.

He nodded with a bit more straightness in his back. "Yep, she's a wonder. I miss her a lot, but don't you tell anyone I said that. You haven't gotten to meet her yet but I'm sure you'll like her. She's sort of your great grandmother, I guess. Well, at least as much as I'm your great grandfather," he shrugged.

"You Dup," the girl giggled.

"Oh, right. Yes," he agreed. "Or just Dup is fine," the man nodded.

They reached the front entry of the animal hospital and Beth let go of his hand, darting straight inside. Dup followed after her and found Danny and Alice tended to the cheetah Rosie had operated on two days ago. Max's father, Henry, was also in attendance. He stood outside the animal pen in clean slacks and pressed shirt, watching with a keen eye as the two vets performed their exams. "Do you think she and the cub with be all right then?" Henry inquired.

Danny nodded. "They're both doing fantastic," he informed their guest. "We'll probably keep them on a few weeks here just to make sure she can cope with being a proper mother to the cub. But the sooner we get them both back into the wild the better."

"Your daughter has quite a talent," Henry acknowledged, having heard the tale about how Rosie had dealt with the situation.

"Indeed she does," Danny did not hesitate to agree. "Wish I could take some of the credit, but she's a natural talent."

Henry watched the vets in action for a while longer. "Has Rosie mention vet school to you? I know she had that interview a while back, but we never heard more about it."

"She hasn't brought it up for several months," Danny replied. "I feel guilty for her being here. She stayed to help me out after Sarah died and…" his head shook.

"I doubt Rosie feels a bit bad for staying here," Dup declared, still hovering nearby. "She's a good girl, would do anything for her family," he concluded.

With a firm but friendly hand, Henry clapped Danny's back. "We never do stop worrying about our children, do we? No matter how we might push them away," he lamented his strained relationship with Max. "And no matter how old they may be," Henry actually smiled a little.

"Right you are, Henry," Danny agreed. "Right you are."

Little Beth snuck up between the two men. She eyed the healing cheetah for a moment before extending her hand to Henry. Her small, delicate fingers gripped his beefier hand like she had done with Dup earlier. "Grawndpa Henwy, show you something," the child said as she tugged at his hand in indication that he should follow her.

"Did she just…" Henry was in awe of the child's behavior around him.

"She did," Danny smiled as he watched Beth walk Henry over to the cage where another cheetah lay.

"Cheetah sick," Beth pointed out as she squatted near the cage, still hanging on to Henry's hand. "Wosie twy feed, cheetah no eat."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Henry wasn't sure what the girl expected of him - if she wanted him to figure out a way to heal the cheetah like her granddad Danny might be better suited, or if she just wanted someone to sympathize with her. "You're worried?" he looked to the girl and could see genuine empathy in her big blue eyes.

Beth watched the cheetah silently for a while, still clinging to Henry's hand. Then she suddenly sprang to life. "Fwiends?" she asked, looking not to Henry but behind him to where the other cheetah was sprawled in the pen. "Cheetahs be fwiends?"

"I…" Henry was not following what the child was saying.

It was Alice who first grasped the concept behind Beth's limited ability to get her point across. She'd had some experience with trying to decipher little kid speech when Charlotte had been that age. Alice knelt in front of the girl and smiled. "You think if we move this cheetah closer to the pen where the mother cheetah is they might be friends?"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically.

Danny and Dup shared a grin, both amazed at the simple concept. "It's certainly worth a try," Danny easily agreed, starting to see a bit of Rosie in the child's unique way of dealing with animals. "We can move this girl," he waved at the sick cheetah. "Into the pen next to our new mother and…" Danny shrugged. "We'll see what happens."

"Fwiends," Beth concluded, seeming sure that they would become friends.

"So, the cheetah Rosie saved is doing well?" a voice from behind them called out.

Everyone turned to see Natalie standing in the doorway. Max's mother was at her side looking rather uncomfortable.

Dup was instantly on guard, taking a step toward the woman. Danny intervened, placing a calm hand against Dup's shoulder. "Yes, the cheetah is fine. Is there a reason you've shown up unannounced?" he asked, trying to keep his tone civil. "Last we heard from you was two days ago when you threatened my daughter and granddaughter."

Natalie smiled. "Beth is not your granddaughter," she said. "You are all under this strange delusion that she's a part of your family all ready."

"That's no delusion," Dup stated. "You don't know us all very well, but everyone here at Leopard's Den is family."

"A bit of a dysfunctional family," Danny added, knowing that to some outsiders they probably seemed like a rather messed up bunch. "But we make up for that with a lot of love. We all learned a long time ago that DNA doesn't mean much to us where family is concerned."

"You're all crazy," Natalie maintained. "Where are Rosie and Max? I have papers to serve them," she declared, pointing over her shoulder to the man standing behind her. He wore a fancy navy suit with steel gray tie. And he held a large manila folder in his left hand.

"They're not here at the moment," Alice replied, eyeing Danny and Dup for some sort of help.

"They've gone on an overnight trip," Danny tried not to lie. "Some important business to take care of."

Natalie frowned, not sure if she was buying the business bit of their answer. "Then I'll be back tomorrow to take care of this."

Little Beth rushed to the doorway as Natalie stalked back to her car with the man in the suit. "Fwiends?" she asked, looking up at Danny with her inquisitive blue eyes.

Danny sighed, smoothing a hand over the girl's soft blonde hair. "I sincerely doubt if that woman has plans to be friends with any of us, little one," he morosely replied. "I'm not sure she even knows the meaning of that word."

The little girl watched Natalie until her car disappeared. "Fwiends," Beth said again as if in declaration.

xxx

Rosie felt a cool breeze against her cheeks. She could smell the dirt and the trees. But all she saw was darkness.

The jeep lurched and rumbled speedily along the track. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this trip," she grumbled softly as the jeep jumped again. "Do you think you could hit a few more potholes?" Rosie groaned as she jostled from side to side and had to brace herself with both hands against the jeep's dashboard. "I can't exactly see with this thing over my eyes…" she reached up to touch the scarf pulled across her eyes and tied behind her head, "But I feel you might be hitting them on purpose," she suspected.

"Should I just turn back?" Max asked, reaching across to gently swat her hand away from the blindfold.

"I didn't say that," she tried not to get snippy at him, but it was hard to carry on a conversation with a blindfold. "I'm here, aren't I?" Rosie pointed out, holding her hands aloft. "I agreed to go on this trip with you against my better judgment, didn't I?"

Max gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as he made sure to maneuver around a pothole in the track. "Well, forgive me if I thought it might be nice for you to _want_ to be here with me, rather than just agreeing to go along with me. Is it so much to ask for a little enthusiasm?" he slowed the jeep. "Maybe I will turn around."

With a deep breath, Rosie let go some of her anxiety. "I'm sorry, Max," she apologized. "Don't turn around, okay. I do want to be here with you," she assured him. "I just can't seem to stop thinking about Beth being alone, and Natalie lurking about. But given that the courts have been dragging their heels for seven months in our adoption process, I doubt she can get a custody agreement drawn up in a few days."

Rosie had spent two days lamenting her choice not to go off with Max, so this morning she'd woken up and promised to spend one night with him before Beth's birthday party.

"Beth is not alone," Max reminded her. "Far from it in fact. She's got your whole family there at Leopard's Den and my parents." He glanced over to see she was once again tugging at the cloth covering her eyes. "Maybe I should tie your hands behind your back so you can't fiddle with the blindfold," Max suggested with a more cheerful chuckle.

"That would be lovely, sure to remind me of Donovan and Harris a few months back…"

The two of them sat quietly for a moment after that, Max feeling like he'd just been kicked in the stomach. "Jeez, Rosie… I'm so sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't even thinking about them and what they… why didn't you say something sooner. I never should've blindfolded you. I just wanted this to be a surprise and…"

"No worries, I'm fine," she shrugged. "Honestly, I've forgotten most of what those idiots did to me."

He frowned, still carefully steering the jeep around the potholes in the road. "Fine," Max knew how good she was at covering her feelings. After the miscarriage she'd been insistent upon the fact that everything was completely fine. "Except for your shoulder that took a bullet, which is still hurting," he pointed out.

"Right, yeah…" Rosie was a bit hesitant, "My shoulder."

Max wasn't buying her act any more, but he still wasn't sure how to ask her what was really going on. Why she was using her shoulder as an excuse to take things easy. "It must have been fine a few days ago when you opened up that cheetah to save her cub."

Rosie felt a bit sick to her stomach for a second. "That was more like instinct. I had to save that baby…"

Hearing the soft, sad tone of her voice, Max was sorry he'd brought any of it up again. He knew she was still sensitive to anything having to do with babies. "We're almost there," Max announced as he reached over and pulled her blindfold off.

"Almost there?" Rosie blinked, glancing around the familiar landscape. "We're barely thirty minutes from home and we're still out in the bush. How could we be…" she trailed off as the jeep slowed, turned a corner and eventually stopped. In front of her was a spot of land she remembered pretty clearly. Straight ahead was an old army surplus tent with a large fire pit set up out in front. To the left of that was an outdoor shower stall. "Max, this is just like…"

Max nodded, watching her with keen interest. "I tried to do it up the same as when we set camp for Bill and Dora a few years back," he wore a slightly nervous look as he got out of the jeep and went around to her side. Max took his wife by the hand and led her closer to the tent. "I wish I could take you somewhere fancier like on our honeymoon, but I thought this might mean more to you. And money is kind of tight with Beth and all," he admitted.

"This is perfect," she whispered, moved that he'd put such thought into the idea. Rosie instantly regretted all the snipping she'd done along their short drive.

With renewed spirit, Max smiled as he led her further into the camp. "I just wanted to help you relax a bit, even if for a night."

Rosie threw her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. "I'm really sorry for being such an idiot, Max."

He laughed softly. "I think we all have our idiot moments now and then," Max easily forgave her.

"After less than a year of marriage I was already starting to sound like an old grouch, the same as Bill when he and Dora were here," Rosie realized. "I remember thinking how annoying that was. And yet Dora was still madly in love with the old grouch and wanting to do something special for him."

"Just like I'm still madly in love with you, Rosie," Max said. "No matter how grouchy you might get."

She stayed close to him, arms still hooked around his neck as she looked him in the eye. "I remember you said love dies," Rosie whispered.

Max shrugged. "I was younger then, and I hadn't realized yet that I didn't just desire you. You changed me, Rosie. For the better," he insisted. "Some days I still feel bad for how I shamelessly went after you even while I was still with Tandy. But I came to realize that Tandy was just someone I wanted to have a bit of fun with. And you…" he trailed off for a moment. "You made me want to grow up, get married and have a family. You made me understand love, Rosie. That it's the good and bad all together. And our love will never die."

Their lips touched with a gentle tenderness that nearly caused Rosie's knees to buckle. She was amazed that he could still make her feel such a way.

With their foreheads pressed against one another, gazing in to one another's eyes, Rosie arched her brows. "I believe you mentioned something about clothing being optional for this trip?" she inquired with great interest.

He grinned and nodded while taking her by the hand.

Rosie had fully expected him to guide her into the tent, but he went around the tent and led her through the bush a ways off. A large pond appeared on the horizon, one Rosie always seemed to forget was there. It was not a common watering hole for the animals. Mostly it was a place for birds to gather up in the tops of the mopane scrub that lined the pond. The water was cool but clean. And as Max began to strip down Rosie felt her stomach start to flutter again.

She followed him into the pond, both of them without a single stich of clothing.

Max swam out a ways while Rosie stayed closer to the shore, wading in up to her chin. She watched his muscled form cut through the water with a gentle ease. Rosie enjoyed the cool waters as she waited for him to come back. She smiled unabashedly as he swam toward her like a predator and caught her about the waist. "You're an excellent swimmer," she noted, kissing him softly. "Why is it that I keep learning things about you long after our marriage?"

"Guess we never really went swimming together before," he said, pulling her closer so their lips could meet again, longer this time. He kissed her sweetly at first, but the union slowly grew. "I won several ribbons in school over the years," Max revealed with a proud grin.

"I don't really care about your swimming any more," Rosie spoke with a breathy whisper.

With that said they exited the water and made the short trip back to their tent, hand-in-hand. The morning drifted into afternoon as they remained coiled together upon their airbed in the tent. Not until late afternoon did they finally emerge into the outdoors again. The sky had darkened a little. Thick clouds hung overhead as Rosie went to take a shower. She was only alone in the camp shower for a moment before her husband joined her.

"You're very keen today," Rosie said as she glanced down and then back up to eye him. "Give a girl a break will you?" she chuckled.

He nodded but wrapped his arms about her again. "Rosie," Max spoke as a small trickle of heated water sprayed down on them. "Tell me the truth, please?"

"The truth about what?" she licked her lips, slightly nervous.

Max carefully regarded Rosie, his gaze level with hers. "Is your shoulder really still hurting that much? Or are you just saying it is to avoid something? To avoid the subject of going back to school?" he asked. "Or maybe you don't want to be a vet any longer? Though I doubt that could be true," he reasoned.

Rosie barely looked him in the eye. "I…" she hesitated a moment. "I've just been really worried lately. Mostly about Beth and her safety, even before Natalie showed up," she veered the conversation away from her shoulder a little. "I've been thinking a lot about Matthew and Abigail recently. They made that video for a reason. They didn't have anyone for Beth to go to but at least they had some sort of plan. They wanted to make sure she'd be with a family and that she'd be well looked after," Rosie bit her lip. "Maybe we should think about what will happen to our kids if something… if you and I were to die," she revealed some of her fear.

"God forbid," Max was quick to reply, not really wanting to think about it.

"Of course, I don't want to think about it either," Rosie admitted. "But our children are the most important thing in the world to us Max."

His eyes narrowed a little as he regarded her. "Children?" Max felt the last of the warm water slip over his shoulders as he regarded his wife. "First you said our _kids_ and then you said our _children_. Both imply more than one."

"Did I?" Rosie shrugged. "Well, yeah… eventually. You did say there'd be more babies for us, right?"

A small nod came in reply, but he kept his eyes fully focused on her. "I get the feeling you're not being completely honest with me about something, Rosie." It wasn't exactly a question, but his words remained hovering all around them, thicker than the air they were breathing.

She sighed resignedly but smiled softly at the realization of how much she loved him. There was no way she could keep her secret from him any longer. "When we went swimming earlier, did you… uh, did you notice anything different about me?" Rosie asked. "Do you now?"

"What are you on about?" Max scrunched his nose a little in confusion. "Different how?"

"Different…" Rosie hesitated again, "Physically."

"Uh, well…" Max grew a bit uncomfortable. "Yeah, I have, but…" he smiled, holding her just as close. Max let his hands smooth their way down her waist and over her hips. "I did notice there's been a bit more of you to hold on to lately. But I learned a long time ago that men aren't meant to mention when a wife or girlfriend gains a bit of weight," he cautiously said. "It can happen. You're under a lot of stress lately. You know it doesn't make me love you any less, though, Rosie. I love all of you, no matter how much or little of you there may be."

Rosie smiled. "Very smooth, mister," she couldn't help appreciate him even more. "But this happens to be baby weight I've gained."

He was confused again, not putting the pieces together right away. "What baby?"

"I'm pregnant, Max," she whispered the words, almost afraid of them. "About four and a half months along, actually," Rosie concluded.

His face remained blank for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity. "Rosie…" Max finally spoke. "That's like nearly half way," he was still utterly in shock.

"Technically," she held one finger up as if to make a point of her fact. "Human females gestate ten months from point of conception, forty weeks…" she could see his eyes glazing over as they sometimes did when she began to spout off medical facts, "Well, it's kind of complicated and you probably don't want to hear about it all."

"No," his head shook as his hands still lingered against her waist. "It doesn't have to be complicated. We're having a baby," he whispered. "We're having a baby," the second time he said it Max grinned from ear to ear, the reality finally starting to sink in. "We're having a baby!" he finally shouted.

She nodded, her spirits lifted by his enthusiasm. "Hopefully for real this time," Rosie bit her lip.

"Rosie," he felt bad for not acknowledging her obvious fears. "It _will_ be different this time, I know it will. It has to be."

With a small nod, Rosie did her best to face the situation courageously. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just didn't want to say anything until I was fairly certain this baby was sticking around. I mean, things can still happen… but hopefully…"

"No," Max stopped her. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her lips softly. "We won't worry about any of those things," he insisted.

"So… are you happy?" Rosie dared to ask.

His head shook but he chuckled lightly. "No, I just shouted out like that because I was upset," he scoffed. "Actually, you're right. I'm not happy, Rosie," Max's face drained of all emotion for a brief moment. "I'm thrilled." He grinned again. "Bethy is getting a little brother!"

"Um, could be a sister," Rosie noted, but she smiled happily. She was relieved that he wasn't upset.

"Yeah, sure, I suppose it could be," Max nodded. His left hand slid down her body again and gently rested against the barely identifiable bulge of her belly. "But it'll be a boy," he gave a confident nod before kissing his wife again. When he pulled away, Max looked Rosie in the eye. "And this means you need to go to school."

"What for?" Rosie asked. "Parenting classes?"

"No, Rosie, vet school."

He was as serious as she'd ever seen him. Rosie resisted the strong urge to laugh in his face. "So exactly what part of I'm pregnant didn't you just understand, Max?" she questioned his odd reaction. "We're about to have two kids. There's no way I can go to school now with a three year old and a baby."

"I understand perfectly, and yes you can," he held her hands, squeezing them confidently. "The new term is almost about to start, you can get in one term before the little one is born during the holidays, right?" he searched for confirmation that his due date calculations were correct. When she nodded he went on to say, "And when the little guy is born I'll look after him and Beth while you go back to classes for the next term."

She couldn't help smile even as her head shook. "You're crazy mad, Max. You're gonna be a stay at home dad?"

"Sure, why not," Max was not hesitant at all about the idea. "I can learn to be patient and I'm sure I can figure out how to change a nappy. What else is there, feeding and burping and playing and laughing," he shrugged. "I just want our kids to know what a great vet you are, or will be one of these days. One of us needs a decent career," he declared.

"Max, you have a good job," Rosie hated to hear him put himself down.

"Right, I get people drunk for a living," Max dismissed. "Not exactly the legacy I want to pass down. I want my kids to be proud of their dad."

"Beth and this baby will be proud of you, Max, no matter what you do," Rosie insisted. "Beth already looks up to you," she added as another thought entered her head. "But you could do something else if you wanted," Rosie encouraged. "You could go to school as well."

He was completely caught off guard by that comment. But he wasn't entirely dismissive of her words. "To study what?"

"Don't know," Rosie admitted, not having thought it through very well yet. She rolled with the idea, though. "Maybe… well, you're good at financials, you manage a bar. I imagine you could manage just about anything if you wanted, run your own company someday or maybe even…"

Max eyed her. "Maybe what?"

"I don't know…" Rosie bit her lip again, not entirely sure how receptive he'd be to her suggestions. She really didn't want to come off as being a dictator for his life, as his father had clearly done for years. "You could manage your own game reserve someday," she shrugged, "With your brilliant vet wife at your side."

The idea seemed a bit absurd to him at first, but Max was not about to dismiss it entirely. "In that case, we definitely need some boys to help me run the place," he joked.

She swatted his arm. "Get real, Max. Girls are just as capable at running a property."

"No argument," he quickly agreed. Max placed his hands against her belly again and leaned over a little, which was rather difficult in the small confines of their camp shower. "It's okay if you're a boy or a girl," he spoke aloud, directing his conversation to the baby in utero. "We don't really care which, honest. I just want you to know me and your mum; we'll try our best to be good parents for you. You hear?" Max asked.

A tear gently slid down Rosie's cheek as she watched and listened to Max's tender declaration. "If I do go off to school, I'm worried about uprooting Beth," she mentioned, thoughts of the little girl still weighing heavily in her mind. "Leopard's Den is her home now and…"

"No, Rosie," Max stopped her. "Her home is with you and me, and now her little brother or sister. Wherever we are, she's going to be fine."

Another tear coursed down Rosie's cheek and she hated being so emotional. "Unless she ends up going back to England with Natalie," Rosie voiced her biggest concern at the moment.

He pulled her close again as a gust of wind picked up and caused the shower canvas to flutter. "We'll face it together, Rosie, whatever happens."

xxx

Dup glanced out the window of the lounge room and stared at the dark clouds. A moment later the rain began to fall.

The pit-pat of drizzle started off small but grew within a few seconds to large drops of rain spattering the window and blurring the view. In the distance a short way off, Dup spotted some sort of light. It wobbled and dipped until it drew nearer and Dup could see that it was actually two lights; headlights from a vehicle approaching. "Is that Danny and Alice?" Evan appeared at Dup's side. He pushed the curtains back a little more to peer in to the darkness.

"Don't know," the old man shrugged. "Hope so. They never should've gone back out to that cattle ranch with this storm brewing," he added.

"You know they had to go, Dup," Evan returned. "If the cattle are sick because of their vaccinations then Danny will do anything to put it right."

The old man nodded. "Could be Max and Rosie had to come back because of the storm," he kept his eyes on the lights. "Max wouldn't say where they were headed, but not far."

"It could be Max's parents," a pajama-clad Charlotte added as she and her faithful dog, Domino, crowded their way between the two guys at the window. "Maybe they were too scared to be out at the lodge on their own in the storm."

Evan put a hand against the girl's shoulder. She could be annoying at times, but he already thought of her as a little sister. He had a feeling it was her who was frightened of the storm at the moment. Evan frowned when he noticed the car was not like any of their jeeps. "Dup, I have a bad feeling about…"

The boy didn't get a chance to say anything more when someone knocked loudly at the door. Dup, Evan and Charlotte all went to see who it was as Nomsa answered, swinging the large door open and doing her best to brace it against the growing wind storm. Natalie stood in the open doorway for a moment with the same suited man as she'd been with earlier in the day out at the hospital. Nomsa, not wanting any more bad weather inside, hurriedly ushered the two guests inside.

"This is David Cooper," Natalie waved a hand at the quiet man beside her. She didn't bother with taking off her rain slicked jacket. "He is an officer of the court and we've come to serve Rosie and Max some official papers," Natalie moved down the hall with purpose. "I will not be put off any longer. Either they are here or they aren't. But this document gives me the right to take Beth back to England and I plan to do so now," the woman declared.

Dup was at her heels as she scanned the house. "You don't have any _right_ to be in my house snooping about," he declared. "You come back later and be civil… then we'll talk."

She spun around to face him. "Please, do not make this more difficult than it needs to be," Natalie persisted.

"Oh, you have no idea how difficult I can make things for you, lady," Dup declared. Evan, Charlotte and Nomsa stood behind him, all of them looking ready for a fight.

"Beth is sleeping," Nomsa said. "Perhaps you should return in the morning when she is awake," the woman suggested.

Natalie huffed and her shoulders sagged a little. "Fine, if you insist on playing this game. I can wait a little longer. But you are only putting off the inevitable," she said before directing David back to the door. They exited without further protest.

"You worry too much, boy," Dup said to Evan as the group moved back to the lounge room. Evan hadn't even spoken a word, but he didn't have to for Dup to read him. "You keep it up you'll be old and wrinkled like me by the time you turn thirty."

"I just don't see why things always have to be so difficult for us," Evan lamented as he flopped on the sofa. "Especially Rosie," he added. "First she lost her mum and then when she and my mum were finally starting to become friends…" he trailed off, the loss of his mother still heavy in his heart even though he was happy for Danny and Alice's new relationship. "And she lost her baby, and if Beth gets taken away… it's just not fair."

"Whoever said life was meant to be fair?" Dup asked, shaking his head. A clap of thunder rolled overhead and the rain camp down even harder. "Life is made up of good stuff and bad stuff. You can't have one without the other."

"For once," Nomsa spoke up. "I agree with the old man."

"Nomsa, you sweet talker," Dup quipped.

"But we can fight, right?" Charlotte asked, huddled on the sofa next to Evan, Domino curled up beside her. "You said so, Dup. We can make sure Natalie knows how much we all love Beth and want her to be part of our family here. Maybe she'll understand. Mum says you should always fight for what you want."

Evan smiled at the young girl. "She's right. We fight for stuff here at Leopard's Den all the time. And we don't give up easily," he eyed Dup. "Even if it means running away for a while to figure things out," he winked at the man.

"Not that running away is always the best solution," Dup quickly added. "But heck yeah we can fight. We won't give up on our cheetah girl."

The children laughed a little, somewhat put at ease.

xxx

"I still can't believe you're pregnant," Max remarked as he lay snuggled up next to Rosie in the tent. "How long have you known?"

Rosie sighed, still feeling bad for having kept it a secret so long. "A few months… about three," she revealed.

"Have you been to see a doctor?" his concern grew as he turned to lie on one side and face her.

She nodded. "Yeah, several times, usually when I had a physical therapy appointment for my shoulder. I'd lump it together so you wouldn't know," Rosie realized how calculating that sounded. "Are you mad at me?"

He shrugged. "Not really," Max replied. "A bit hurt, I guess."

Her heart broke a little to hear the sadness in his tone. "I really am sorry, Max. I was just… I didn't want to disappoint you again."

"Rosie," he gently stroked her cheek. "You've never been a disappointment to me."

"I meant…" she took a deep breath. "If something had happened again like it did the first time," it was still hard for her to use the term miscarriage. It hadn't even been a year ago. "I didn't think I could stand to watch you grieve like that again. It nearly destroyed us, Max."

"But it didn't," he was quick to remind her.

Rosie snuggled closer to her husband and closed her eyes. "Do you remember when I finally told you about why I loved sunsets so much?" She could feel the nod from his head against her shoulder. "I wanted those sunsets with my mum to last forever, just like I want this time in our lives to last forever. You and me happy, Beth as she is, nothing changed."

"But life isn't like that, Rosie," he hated to be the voice of reason because he would not have minded staying curled up with her in the tent forever. "Things always have to change and we have to change with it. But that doesn't have to mean bad things; change can be good for us. We'll take Beth to Cape Town with us, it'll only be for five years and then we'll come back here. And Beth and the new baby can attend school in town and I can help rear our other kids, those boys I mentioned before."

"There you go again, planning everything," Rosie laughed rather than being frightened.

"Okay, no plans further than you going to Uni and me watching after Beth and the baby."

"And what about money?" she couldn't help asking.

"We'll sort it out," he replied with confidence.

"Max…"

"Rosie," he kissed her a moment to silence her worries. "I brought you here so we could relax, but you're not very good at that." Max pulled back a little and regarded her. "You know, sometimes I feel like you don't need me," he confessed with a whisper. "You're so independent," Max declared. "Of course that's one of the things I love most about you, along with the fact that you're smart and funny, and also very gorgeous."

She nearly blushed. Even though they'd been together for years, he still had a way of making her feel adored. "I am independent, Max. After my mother died I was alone a lot. My dad was working all the time so I learned to depend on myself. But," she held both his hands in hers. "Even if it seems like Beth and I don't always need you… we want you in our lives, Max. Isn't that better than being needed - to be wanted, to be desired, to be the man I still have steamy daydreams about and the man I sleep beside at night."

"When you put it that way," he smiled as the gentle sound of falling rain filled their tent.

xxx

"You should've been asleep hours ago," Nomsa insisted as she guided Charlotte to her room.

When they entered the small room they spotted little Beth curled up on the tiny camp bed that they'd set up for her in Charlotte's room. Her halo of golden hair was spread out against a pink pillow and her arms were flailed above her head as she slept. "Nomsa," Charlotte whispered as she climbed into her larger bed. "If my mum and Danny got married, wouldn't that make me like an auntie to Beth?" she asked.

Nomsa smiled. "Yes, I suppose it would." She watched Domino jump up on to Charlotte's bed and curl into a ball at the foot of it. "Now go to sleep," she gently instructed.

"Night, Nomsa," Charlotte said as the woman closed the door. It hung open just a small crack so light could shine through.

A crash of thunder caused Charlotte to clutch her blankets tightly. And she noticed that the sound had woken Beth. Charlotte got up and went to Beth's small bed, seeing the fear in the smaller girl's eyes. "You're okay," the older girl cooed. "Do you wanna sleep in my bed with me?" she asked.

Beth nodded, stood, and followed Charlotte. The older girl helped Beth up in to her bed and noticed something in Beth's hand. "What's that?"

The little girl held it out. "Miss them," she spoke in a tiny voice.

It was a photograph of Max and Rosie on their wedding day. Charlotte smiled to see it, remembering that day. She hoped to get married one day and be just as beautiful as Rosie had been in her pretty pink dress. "Your mummy and daddy will be home in the morning," Charlotte assured the child.

Charlotte was about to climb back in to bed when another huge clap of thunder spooked Domino. The dog jumped down off the bed and went skittering out the bedroom door.

"Domino," Charlotte called after him with a hushed voice. She turned back to Beth. "You stay here, all right," Charlotte instructed. "I'll find Domino."

Beth remained in bed, still clutching her picture tightly as the rain pelted the window panes. Thunder rumbled overhead and the little girl could not get back to sleep. When the whole house shook Beth sat up in bed. Her eyes were wide with worry but she was afraid to move from the safety of Charlotte's bed. "Chawlotte?" she spoke softly, hoping the older girl would return soon. "Whewe awe you?" she asked of the darkened room.

Nomsa poked her head in the room. "Are you two all right in here?" she asked before realizing only Beth was there. "Where is Charlotte?" she asked.

The only answer Beth had was a shrug of her shoulders.

"You stay right here," Nomsa spoke with great authority before she fled the room.

Beth could hear shouting from the hallway. Their words were frantic as they searched for Charlotte, but they died out slowly, leaving Beth in bed to listen to the rain. The girl wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard the soft creak of floor boards outside her room. The door swung open again and she was expecting to see Nomsa or Charlotte, or both of them. Instead she saw a woman standing there, the stranger who'd come into their lives very recently.

"Hello, Beth," Natalie spoke softly to the girl.

"Hi," Beth replied shyly.

xxx

The storm outside their tent raged on. The rain fell in heavier sheets. The wind whistled through the canvas. The thunder rumbled and crackled like fire.

"I think we should head back to Leopard's Den, Max," Rosie voiced her opinion as they both lay awake on the camp bed where they'd recently made love.

He wrapped a protective arm about her and kissed her forehead. "I have a radio hidden for emergencies," Max revealed. "Didn't want you to find it and call home to check on Beth. I was thinking you need to face these separation issues if you're going to be at school while I watch the kids."

Rosie chuckled, but the wind kicked up again. "Okay, well how about our safety here? I think we should head back because this place could…" she didn't get a chance to finish when a clap of thunder rolled overhead and the wind caused one whole side of their tent to collapse.

They both leapt to their feet. "Max, catch!" Rosie shouted as she tossed his clothes to him. "Now might be a good time for that hidden radio of yours!" she noted.

"Radio is in the jeep, under the seat," he let her know as both of them pulled on pants, shirts and shoes before rushing out of the tent toward the jeep.

A crack of lightening hit a large tree not three feet away as they ran toward the jeep. Part of a branch dropped in front of them, cutting off their route. In that second Max realized she'd been right to worry for their safety. He was just about to usher her around the branch toward safety when the damaged tree swayed heavily. Max watched as it began to list to the right, exactly in the direction where Rosie was standing.

It was almost like watching that elephant ram her and seeing her tumble down the hill the day they'd lost their unborn child. He'd been unable to do anything that day. And only a few hours ago she'd told him about the new baby, which left Max thinking about only one thing, their safety. He wouldn't be caught in such a helpless state again. "Rosie, you need to get out of here," he said as he moved toward her.

His animal instinct to protect them kicked in and Max pushed Rosie aside.

She nearly lost her footing from the force of his push, but Rosie kept her feet under her and turned just in time to watch the tree topple Max over. One of the large branches landed with a heavy thud across his chest and Rosie felt her stomach twist with fear. "Max!" she called out to him as rain soaked through her clothing. "Max, talk to me," Rosie stepped carefully but hurriedly over several large branches to get to him.

Dropping to her knees beside him, she worriedly focused on his closed eyes. "Please, Max… just let me know you're all right," Rosie pleaded.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

**Please enjoy the last three parts of this story, and thank you very much for reading!**

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 4**

By  
N. J. Borba

* * *

Dark blue sky was pierced by a flash of lightening zigzagging across the sky as Rosie remained steadfast beside Max.

Wind howled furiously. Persistent rain seemed to seep through Rosie's skin as she shivered in the cold. Thankfully the nearly full moon and lightning flashes illuminated the area enough for her to see that Max was still pinned to the ground by a large tree branch. "Max?" she called to him again, her voice rather loud against the stormy torrent. "If you can hear me at least squeeze my hand," Rosie prompted, holding fast to his right hand with her left.

"Yeah, I can hear you," Max's dazed voice replied.

Rosie nearly fainted with relief to hear him speak those words. She watched as he opened his eyes with some difficulty, eyelids batting against the falling raindrops. "How do you feel?" she asked, voice still raised above the dull roar of the downpour. "Can you move?"

Max grimaced noticeably as he attempted to shift his body. "I feel like…" he settled again but kept hold of her hand. "Like there's a tree branch across my chest."

"Can you breathe?" Rosie inquired further, hoping to figure out how to help him.

A whispered chuckle escaped his lips. "Wouldn't be talking to you now if I couldn't breathe, Rosie," he smiled for her benefit, though he felt pretty horrible. "You really need to get to the jeep, go for help," Max insisted.

Her head raised enough to glance across the moonlit expanse of land where she spotted the jeep several yards off. "I think that might be a problem," Rosie looked back down at her husband and pursed her lips for a moment. "The tree hit the jeep and…" she glanced up again to be sure. "There's not much jeep left. It's not going anywhere."

"The radio then," Max was alert enough to be thinking clearly. "You might be able to find it under the seat if it's not too crushed," his tone held a note of hopefulness.

With a quick nod, Rosie got to her feet. She walked carefully around the tree branches, trudging through the orange-red mud that caked the ground. She reached the jeep and spotted the front seat, noticing it was not as flattened as she would have thought given the rest of the vehicle's damage. With her arms outstretched she fished under the seat for the radio, hoping against the dismal odds that she'd find the device and also that it would be working.

Her hope was dashed the moment her fingertips made contact with hard plastic and the electronic innards of the radio. She pulled it free only to confirm that it had indeed been smashed beyond repair. Disappointed as she was that the radio was very much dead, Rosie was eternally thankful that neither she nor Max were in the same state. "Alright then, how about a plan C," she said as she bent low and tried to place her body over Max as much as possible to keep the rain off him.

Max regarded the gutted radio in her hand and sighed. "You make your way back to the house in the dark and rain?" he didn't much care for the sound of that plan.

"Or…" Rosie bit her lip and gave up on the radio, placing it on the muddy ground near her feet. "I find a large branch and use it as leverage to help lift this branch off your chest. You crawl out from under it and we both hobble back home together."

"Rosie, I don't think…"

She wouldn't let him finish. "Let me make this clearer for you, Max Gifthold, I'm not leaving you out here alone."

He couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips, even as he watched fat droplets of water slide down over her shoulders and plop on to the muddy ground. Max could tell she was shivering but he didn't argue with her. "You can give it a go, if you insist," he offered, "But what about your shoulder?"

"Shoulder's just fine," Rosie replied. "Remember, I was using it as a cover for the whole pregnancy thing."

"Ah, yes…" he nodded as much as he could. "So now you plan to risk our unborn baby's life to save mine?" Max asked, almost having forgot about the baby.

"You just risked your life to save us from the falling tree," she shot back at him, already exasperated at him for starting an argument when they were stuck outside in one of the worst storms she'd ever experienced in her life. "Max," she spoke softer, though still loud enough to be heard over the howling wind. "I want this baby more than just about anything, but not at the cost of losing you. Bethy, this baby and I all need you," Rosie dug her heels in on that matter. "Now, let me see if I can find something useful…"

Rosie didn't bother to wait for Max to make any sort of counter argument as she wandered off a short distance to find a branch that might work. She spotted one that had mostly broken free from the tree and seemed to be a manageable size. With a great deal of effort she twisted it the rest of the way free and carted it back to where Max was laying. It was just small enough to slip under the branch trapping Max. "Promising start," Rosie grinned as she wedged it under further.

Max grasped her hand in his and looked her in the eye for a moment. "You don't have to do this, Rosie."

"Yes, I do," was all she could say before putting her entire strength into raising the tree branch off her husband. "Okay… this thing is seriously heavy," Rosie groaned.

"Let me see if I can help some more now," Max said, moving his arms a little so he could try to touch the branch across his lower chest. Unfortunately he couldn't move enough to make contact with the branch. "I don't think…" he tried again with more effort even though his ribs were as sore as he could imagine. "Sorry, Rosie," Max lamented.

"Just…" she gave a great groan as she began to push down on her leverage branch again. "Just be ready to get out when I lift this thing because I doubt I'll be able to hold it long. If I can even get it to…" Rosie decided not to waste any more time or breathe on words, instead fusing all of her energy in to making the large branch crushing Max at least budge.

Doing his best not to worry about his wife, Max felt the branch begin to dislodge a bit. "Rosie?" he was surprised by her efforts. "I think you're actually…"

"Don't talk, just move if you can," she practically growled while focusing on the branch, slowly lifting it a few centimeters at a time.

He promptly did as instructed and used both hands to brace against the slippery mud. His chest ached as he carefully began to shimmy backwards. Max watched as Rosie held the branch up just long enough for his feet to pass beneath it. Then it crashed to the ground with a heavy, and slightly squishy, thud. Max remained awed for a moment until words found him again. "How'd you do that, Rosie?"

"I had a bit of motivation on my side," she huffed in great gulps of air while kneeing on the ground.

It took a huge deal of effort, but Max slowly crawled toward her. "Oh, yeah, what sort of motivation was that?" he arched his brows suggestively, hoping to cover his fear with a bit of flirtation.

"Needing someone to take care of our kids while I'm at school," she grinned teasingly.

"You're impossible," he whispered as their arms snaked around one another.

Rosie held on to him, though as gently as she could. Her head rested upon his shoulder for a moment and she closed her eyes in an attempt not to think how close she'd come to losing him. "But at least I'm your impossibility," she replied.

"That you are, crazy lady, that you are," he agreed, pulling out of their embrace but leaning heavily against her right side. "Now do you think you can do the impossible again and guide us home?"

"You got it," Rosie nodded confidently, using all of her strength to haul him to his feet. "As soon as we're home and a doctor has looked you over, I'm going to give Beth the biggest cuddle possible," she said as they set off at a very slow pace.

Max smiled, having just been thinking of the girl himself. It was both startling and wonderful to think about how much joy the little girl had brought to their lives, and how profoundly she had changed them. "Me, too," he agreed. "And then I'm going to take the longest nap ever with the three of you," he said, gently patting Rosie's stomach as they continued on toward home.

xxx

"Charlotte?!"

Evan, Dup and Nomsa probingly shouted the girl's name several times across the stormy night as they frantically rushed from the house and let their eyes search in all directions at once. Dup was the first to notice the old vet hut had completely collapsed in what appeared to be a large landside from the north side of the property.

His blood ran cold as he and the others dashed across the yard toward the downed building. The sky was still mostly dark but thankfully the rains had let up a great deal, the moon was full and dawn was on the horizon. "Charlotte?!" Dup cried out again, worried horribly that the girl had somehow gotten caught in the old clinic when it had gone down.

"I'm here!" a faint voice called back to them.

Nomsa, already bent over searching the rubble, stood up straight when she heard the call. "Charlotte?" she spun around. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust in the darkness, but she spotted a small figure by the main doorway to the animal hospital. "Charlotte!" the old woman cried out in joy as she motioned to Dup and Evan. "She's there!" Nomsa pointed just before setting off toward the girl.

The child stood huddled by the door and boarded up windows of the hospital, shaking but holding a firm hand against her faithful dog's collar. "What the devil are you doing out here?" Dup asked upon reaching the girl. "You could've been hurt or killed in this storm," he huffed. Though even as he scolded her he was relieved enough to hug her tight for a second.

Charlotte wore a miserably sad face as she took his hug gratefully and then quickly transferred her embrace to the more motherly form of Nomsa. "I'm sorry; Domino got upset and ran off. I had to make sure he was okay, he'd have done it for me," the child relayed.

"Come on, we should get you dried and warm," Nomsa said as she lead the train of them back to the house.

"I'll grab towels," Evan offered as they promptly closed the front door on the remainder of the nasty, but swiftly dying out, storm.

"Dup," Nomsa spoke as she sat a shaking Charlotte down on the sofa. "Go and get her some dry pajamas. They are in her top drawer," she instructed. "And do not bother Beth. Let her sleep through this nastiness if she can."

"Yeah, alright, woman," Dup hated to be pestered in any way but he crept down the hall as quietly as he could and stepped into Charlotte's small room, thankful that the creaky door was already open. He headed to the dresser and grabbed a soft nightshirt which was purple with yellow and pink flowers.

He turned back to the door and was about to exit as quietly as he had come when he decided to at least check on Beth, make sure she wasn't cowered under the bed or crying softly. His eyes first landed on the small air mattress they'd set up for her on the floor. Not seeing her there he scanned Charlotte's bed. Still the girl was not to be found. Thinking maybe she had been frightened enough to seek refuge he got to one knee and poked his head beneath the bed.

"Huh, well, where have you run off to?" he spoke to himself and then quickly headed to the lounge room.

"Nomsa took Charlotte to the bathroom to clean her up," Evan announced as he dried his wet hair with a fluffy green towel. "She said to tell you to take the pajamas there," the young man grinned, liking the opportunity to boss Dup around.

"You seen Beth?" Dup asked as his eyes roamed the room.

Evan stopped what he was doing. "She should be asleep in Charlotte's room."

"Yeah, well she's not," the old man shot back with arched brows.

"Maybe she got scared and went to find Nomsa?" Evan suggested.

Dup nodded. "Probably you're right," he agreed. "You check Nomsa's room and I'll deliver the pajamas."

They went off in different directions and met back up in the hall minutes later. "No sign of her there," Evan gravely reported. "I also checked Charlotte's room again and nothing," he shrugged, sporting a worried look.

"This family has a bad way of getting lost," Dup grumbled. With a hand to Evan's shoulder he smiled. "But we always find them, so go check the other bedrooms quickly," he told the boy. "I'll search the kitchen and study."

"Did you tell Nomsa?" Evan asked.

"Nah, don't want to worry her," Dup shook off the idea. "We'll find the little cheetah, now go," he shooed the young man away.

Twenty minutes later the winds had died down completely and there was no sound of rain against the roof. Evan ran into Dup in the main hallway again and wore a defeated look upon his tired face. "No luck," Evan needlessly added words to his already clear failure to find the girl. "Did you…"

"Nope," Dup rubbed his chin of scruffy beard, worried but still thinking there had to be a reasonable explanation.

"We should tell Nomsa," Evan said.

"Eh, not so sure about that being a good id…" Dup didn't get to finish when Nomsa appeared in the hallway.

Charlotte stood beside the old Zulu woman. Her clean and dry nightgown was mostly covered by a blue and gray knitted blanket dangling over her shoulders. She also wore knee high socks for added warmth. "Tell Nomsa what?" the woman in question asked.

Evan and Dup shared a slightly worried glance, both of them afraid of Nomsa's wrath. "Well, we're not exactly sure where Beth is," Evan bravely stated, "At the moment."

"She's in my room," Charlotte chimed in.

"No, kiddo," Evan shook his head. "She's not there. Dup and I searched the house. We can't find her. At first I thought maybe she got scared and went to find you, Nomsa," he looked to the woman. "But I searched there and… everywhere. She's not here."

Dup's heart suddenly fell in to his stomach. "Maybe she got scared and went to seek out someone else," he practically whispered. "What if she thought Max and Rosie were just next door at their cottage?"

"But the cottage collapsed in the landsli…" Evan stopped short as he realized what it would mean if the girl had been trapped in the old vet clinic. "No, Dup, she wouldn't. Would she?"

"Let's stop and think a minute," Dup tried to be reasonable. "The way to track a thing is to start at the last place you saw them. That's Charlotte's room, correct?" He waited for them all to nod. "Then we go there first," he set off at a swift pace. As soon as he stepped in again something caught his attention that hadn't before. "It smells different in here."

With a bunched brow, Evan stepped in beside his old friend. He sniffed but didn't catch what Dup was on about. "Not really."

"Roses," Dup said. "Charlotte's room usually smells like the land, dirt and whatnot, because she's always out playing. But I smell roses in here," he insisted. "Is there anything missing?" he turned his attention to Nomsa and Charlotte who remained hovering in the doorway.

"I, um…" the girl stepped inside and looked around. "Yeah," she finally said. "My backpack is gone. It's always on that hook," the girl pointed to the empty spot beside her closet door. "And the stack of Beth's clothes Rosie brought over this morning is missing, too. They were on top of the dresser."

"Beth's pink blanket is not here," Nomsa realized. "She had it in the bed with Charlotte when I checked before realizing Charlotte was missing."

"So Beth packed up a bag and headed off to find Rosie and Max?" Evan spoke in a tone of disbelief.

"No, that's not it," Dup declared emphatically. "Roses took her, I'm almost sure of it." He took off, brushing past the others and headed off toward the back door.

"What's he on about?" Evan asked while they followed the old tracker. "Why would Rosie be here to take Beth and not tell us?"

"Nah, man," Dup's head shook, "Not Rosie, _roses_!"

Nomsa shrugged, giving the man the benefit of the doubt for the moment. A second later they all stood huddled around the back patio. Dup was hunched over staring at the ground. "There, I knew it!" he exclaimed. "A footprint."

"Can't be," Evan said, moving in closer. "The storm would've washed them all away."

"But not here," Dup replied determinedly. "The eave overhead gives enough coverage that the ground doesn't get wet for a few feet. And look there, what does that look like to you?"

"Uh," Evan squinted a little and then grinned. "High heel print."

"No one around here wears nonsense shoes like that," Nomsa pointed out.

Dup held a finger up to make his point, "Except for that richy-rich lady who wears the fancy perfume that smells like…"

"Roses!" Charlotte exclaimed. "I remember that now," she caught on. "Natalie took Beth," the realization hit them all heavily, but none as seriously as the young girl. "I never should've gone after Domino. I shouldn't have left Beth alone. This is my fault."

Nomsa wrapped a comforting arm around the girl. "No, it is no one's fault but that woman. She should be ashamed."

"We need to find Beth," Dup growled. "And make that lady pay if she has hurt that girl."

"No, Dup, we need to be smart about this," Evan stepped in. "We need to find Max and Rosie and contact the police. Captain Yeboah can help us."

"Hello!" Alice called out from the front of the house. "Where is everyone?"

Danny and Alice met up with the group in the kitchen. "Are you all okay?" Danny regarded the slightly disheveled looking bunch. "Heck of a storm, wasn't it? We probably should've stayed out at the farm to ride it out. Mr. Richter made the offer, but Alice was worried about everyone here. And when we pulled up and saw the old vet hut collapsed…" he trailed off a bit. "What's going on?" Danny didn't always know when something was off with his family, but their quite nature was very telling.

"No one was in the cottage, were they?" Alice was equally concerned by the lack of answers and the long faces on the others.

"Beth is missing," Nomsa gave it to them straight. "We think Natalie took her when we were distracted earlier," the woman went on to explain everything else exactly how it had happened with Dup, Evan and Charlotte jumping in from time to time.

"We need to call Yeboah," Danny rushed to the phone but promptly realized that it would be of no help. "Line is dead," he informed them, settling the receiver back on its charger stand.

Dup went to the lounge and recovered the radio he'd left there after finding Charlotte safe and sound. "I'll try all the frequencies, see if I can get ahold of Yeboah or someone else on the police force that might be able to help. You and Evan should get out looking, though," he spoke to Danny. "Too much time has passed already."

Danny nodded. "The road through town was a bit treacherous but passable. We can scan the area for any signs of them."

Evan and Danny were in the jeep and not out of sight for very long when a frantic shout interrupted Dup's search on the radio.

"Dad!" it was Rosie's distinctive voice. "Dup!" she cried out, clearly hoping for anyone that might be there. "Alice! Nomsa!" she added.

They all stumbled onto the front porch in time to see Rosie helping an obviously injured Max, each of them looking dirty and tired.

"What happened to the two of you?" Evan asked as he and Dup went to help Rosie heft Max up the front porch steps.

"I still don't really know," Max responded first, his voice a bit pinched due to the pain searing across his chest. "I set up a camp, but there was a lightning strike, a tree fell on me. And then Rosie lifted this huge tree branch off my chest, somehow."

"But your shoulder," Dup looked to her as he and Evan settled Max into a chair on the porch.

Rosie shrugged. "It's feeling better," she responded without elaborating. Her eyes turned to Max. "I just saw that you were hurt and I knew I had to do something or I might lose you…" she was too choked up to say anything more. "Right now I really want to check on Beth before we get Max to a doctor. Is she still asleep? I was so worried about her. How did she cope with the storm?"

Alice exchanged a worried glance with Nomsa. They both knew, being mothers themselves that Rosie deserved the truth just as Alice had demanded earlier. "Rosie, something's happened and we're not sure where Beth is at the moment," Alice relayed. "Danny and Evan are looking, though. I'm sure we'll find her soon and all of this will…"

"What do you mean?" Rosie cut off Alice, her eyes darting back and forth between Dup, Nomsa and Alice. "I don't understand, how can you not know where she is?"

Dup gulped. "I believe that Natalie woman has taken her."

"Taken?" Max jumped to his feet, a sharp twinge of pain shooting through his chest. "How?"

"I'm not really sure," Dup felt completely helpless at the moment and immediately returned to focusing on the radio, moving out toward the vet clinic in hopes of finding better reception.

Nomsa put a hand against Rosie's shoulder. "We will find her," the woman spoke confidently.

A vehicle approached at that moment, but it wasn't coming from the direction of town. Max noticed it was his blue truck which he'd lent to his parents. Henry and Beth stepped out of the truck looking slightly tired but not terribly frazzled like the rest of them. "Heck of a storm that was," Henry's voice carried up the steps as they walked over. "The cottage by the watering hole is fine; we weathered the storm without much damage. We couldn't get through via phone so we drove here, wanted to make sure everything was…"

He and Beth both noticed the cottage where Max, Rosie and Beth lived had been decimated. "What happened, are you all right?" he turned back to Max and Rosie.

"We weren't in there when it collapsed," Max reported.

"Thank god," Henry muttered.

"What about Beth?" Max's mother inquired.

"She wasn't in there either, but she's gone," Rosie then revealed everything to them, about Max's accident and Beth being missing.

Dup ran across the yard swinging the radio in his left hand. "I've got Danny and Yeboah!" he called out, huffing after the dash he'd just made from the vet clinic. "They have news."

Rosie swiped the radio from Dup. "Dad? Its Rosie," she called out. "Please tell me you have Beth?"

"_No, I'm so sorry_," Danny relayed. "_But we're in town with Yeboah. He was on his way to talk to you yesterday when the storm hit and he had to stay in town to help the villagers. But Rosie, you need to hear what he has to say…_"

A few moments later Yeboah's deep but soft voice spoke over the radio.

"_Natalie Cook is not at all what she seems…_" They all listened as some of the details about the woman spilled forth. Rosie was shocked by some, but not so much by most of it.

"We know she has plenty money," Rosie spoke her thoughts out loud.

Dup nodded. "And what does money mean?" he put in. "She can make her way out of the country very fast."

"And what's the fastest way to leave a place?" Alice asked.

"Fly," Rosie instantly realized.

Yeboah was still listening on the other line. "_If they are at the airstrip they'll have to wait_," the officer informed them. "_The storm damage has delayed all incoming and outgoing flights here. The runway is too soft for safe landing and take-off_."

Max could see the worry carving deep lines across Rosie's forehead. "What about the roads?" he pondered in an effort to help find their little girl. "They could drive to a bigger city further out?"

"_Road to Joburg is closed_," Yeboah relayed.

"She may have money but she's clearly not thinking straight," Rosie reasoned. "I'll bet she's still at the airstrip waiting."

"_We're closer to the airstrip_," Danny said. "_We'll meet you there_," he concluded, cutting off transmission.

Henry stepped forward. "I'll drive," he offered.

Dup nodded. "Rosie and I will go with you."

Rosie agreed but stopped when she saw Max struggling to stand again. "Oh, no, you are not going anywhere," she shook her head at him in warning. "You'll hurt yourself even more. You need to wait for someone to check you out."

"It's doubtful any ambulance will make it out here today, Rosie, not with all the others needing help," Max pointed out. "Beth needs both of us right and you can't stop me. We're wasting time here arguing."

Seeing he refused to budge, Dup and Henry helped Max in to the back seat with Rosie. And they were off.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 5**

By  
N. J. Borba

* * *

Rosie could smell the damp African soil as they made their way toward the airstrip.

It was a scent she'd found offending her first several months living on the land. But it was something she'd grown used to over the years. Now it made her feel connected to the land. It always made her feel home. And as they rushed toward the hope of finding Beth unharmed and still in the country, Rosie also hoped that her children would grow to love the smell of their land as much as she did.

Yeboah, Danny and Evan were waiting for them when Henry pulled Max's truck to a stop near a small plane that appeared to be stalled at the south end of the airstrip. Rosie was the first to jump out of the truck, rushing toward Yeboah with a questioning glance. "Where's Beth? Is she on that plane with Natalie? Have you spoken to her?"

"Mrs. Cook told us to keep our distance and that she wishes to speak with you first," Yeboah relayed as he passed a file to Rosie. "I don't know if she's armed, but if you want I can force her out and retrieve the child for you. You need not talk to her at all."

Rosie sighed, running a hand through her damp, messy hair before she glanced at the file. The whole ordeal had been a bit of a nightmare and she was far beyond the point of tiredness. But, as Rosie read over the file's information on Natalie, she feared that police enforcement might spook the woman and get Beth caught up in something worse. The last thing she wanted was for Beth to get hurt.

"Today is Bethy's birthday," Rosie practically whispered.

"I'm so sorry about all this," Danny replied sympathetically, one hand against his daughter's back as Henry and Dup helped a slowly moving Max to Rosie's side.

"I need to talk to her," Rosie decided.

"Don't be foolish, Rosie," Max was more than a little worried about the idea.

"She actually could be armed for all we know," Dup added. "You let the police handle this."

Evan nearly laughed upon hearing that comment from his old friend, but he sobered quickly. "You know if Dup is opting for the police to help…" he looked to Rosie with abundant worry. "Maybe they're right and you stay clear of her, Rosie," he implored his older sister.

"I agree," Danny was quick to jump in.

Her head shook defiantly as she pulled away from her father and husband. "I respect all of you," she looked to the many men in her life who she also loved dearly. "But I need to do this as peacefully as possible for Beth's sake. I think Natalie will listen to me, relate to me. She did make the offer to talk," Rosie said nothing more before heading toward the plane.

Max took a shaky step forward but his father put a hand to Max's forearm to stop him. "Let her go," Henry advised.

It took nearly every ounce of restraint he had, but Max stayed put and waited for his wife. The others didn't know about the baby yet, but Rosie and the baby's safety were upmost in his thoughts. But then, so was Beth's welfare. It was a nearly impossible situation to think about. "Please be safe, Rosie," he whispered, lending what support he could from a distance.

Natalie walked down the few steps leading off the craft and met Rosie beside the plane's starboard wing. "I know you must be upset."

"No, I'm not upset," Rosie's voice was calm, much to her amazement. "I'm furious. What the hell do you think you're playing at here?" Rosie stood there silently for a moment, more fearful than before as Natalie turned quiet. "Yeboah gave this information to me," she waved the file in her hand. "It tells me you've been divorced for almost four years."

"That's not a crime," Natalie replied.

"No," Rosie gave her that. "So why did you make me think you and your husband were going to take care of Beth?"

"I received an ample amount of money from my husband in the divorce. I could've taken care of Beth just fine on my own," Natalie proclaimed. "I've spent most of my life on my own. I've never needed anyone's help with anything."

Rosie couldn't help see some of herself in the woman, independent and feisty; thinking she didn't need anyone to lean on. Thankfully her family had shown her differently, and that's when Max had entered her life. "Who are you?" Rosie finally asked. "And how do you know about Matthew Webster? Because," she pointed to the documents in her hand. "According to this, you're not his mother."

Most of Natalie's resolve slipped in that instance, her shoulders physically drooped and a heavy breath was expelled, as if she'd always been expecting it to happen. The truth always had a way of working itself out in to the open. "I knew you'd figure it all out, Rosie. You're a smart woman. You have a lot more going for you than I've ever had," Natalie lamented.

"What has this all been about?" Rosie wasn't feeling particularly sympathetic at the moment. She just wanted answers.

"I knew his mother, Matthew's birth mother," Natalie revealed. "Nancy was a friend of mine." Natalie glanced over Rosie's shoulder to where Max and the others were eyeing her like she was one of the world's most wanted criminals. Her gaze returned to Rosie. "Can we talk? Without argument or accusation?" she asked. "Beth is asleep on the plane so we have some time. Will you listen to my story?"

There was no hesitation as Rosie nodded. "Yes," she offered, still a bit upset over the whole ordeal and treading carefully where the woman was concerned.

She leaned against the plane and crossed her arms defensively before the first words came out. "I was sixteen when I got pregnant," the older woman revealed. "My parents kicked me out of home right away. I stayed with a few friends for a while but mostly lived on the street," she confessed. "I ended up doing things I'm not proud of. I had to get by somehow, you know?"

"So you did have a baby?" Rosie found she was actually intrigued and wanted to know more.

Natalie nodded. "A baby girl," she practically whispered. "She was gorgeous, chubby and soft and happy from the start. When I held her that first time in the hospital I knew I couldn't take care of her. I wanted better for her than the life I'd carved out for myself. I gave her up, sent her to some church organization to be adopted."

"That must have been unbearably hard," Rosie offered some small comfort, knowing what it was like to lose a child.

"It was nearly the hardest thing ever," Natalie agreed. "I gave up after that. Didn't care much about my life at all. Worked on the street, you know, selling what I had that men liked," she danced around the truth, never saying the term prostitution though it was certainly implied. "Eventually I got caught up with drugs… horrible stuff," her head shook.

Biting her lower lip, Rosie could see how difficult the story was to tell. Her first impressions of the woman being a rich lady with no worries of her own now seemed very far off the mark. "Natalie, you don't have to go any further," she offered.

"Yes, I do," the woman countered, steeling herself again as she continued. "You deserve to know how messed up I've been, and still am. For more than twenty years I stayed in that pattern, drugs, drink, selling my body. I'd do other things on occasion, a lot of waitressing jobs. I was working in some small restaurant one night when this guy I was waiting on starting to chat me up. I mean really talk, took an interest in me as I served him expensive wine and food. It felt… great. To be noticed, to have an intelligent conversation."

Rosie actually smiled. "That made you turn your life around?"

"For a while, yes," Natalie nodded, "Ended up marrying that guy. Arthur Cook was good to me, very good. He paid for rehab and he really loved me. I was his second wife, his first wife had died in childbirth," she explained, clearly avoiding something she didn't want to get to yet. "We were happy for a long time, sixteen years."

"What happened to him?" Rosie asked.

"Nothing," Natalie responded. "He's alive, well. It's me who screwed everything up," she confessed. "I decided I wanted to find out about the baby I'd given up. I went to the church organization and inquired there. They were happy to help, even had documents from the family who'd taken my baby, they'd expressed an interest in knowing me if I ever decided to come forward. I was shocked by that but I jumped at the chance. I called them right up and they invited me over."

It was easy to see the color drain from Natalie's cheeks. Rosie was worried. "What happened?" she continued to prod.

"I sat down in their lounge and I drank a bit of tea they'd offered. I searched the room and spotted a few photographs, framed pictures of a young girl blowing out candles on a cake. That same girl growing up, going off to school, learning to ride a bike. She looked like me, a lot," Natalie paused and let go a sigh. "The parents were so quiet for a while until I asked what they'd named her. That's when the woman began to cry."

Natalie shook her head, but she went on. "The man told me they'd named her Margaret, called her Maggie. The woman continued to cry as he explained everything; the sudden sickness, the hospital treatments, the long nights of worry, the surgery and then… her death. Twelve years and she was gone. Maggie, the little girl I never got to know, died. And I was never there for her," Natalie revealed. "Cancer, leukemia. They found a donor but it didn't take. I probably could have saved her life but I wasn't there."

"You don't know that," Rosie found herself actually trying to comfort the woman, biting back her own tears. "She may not have survived even if you'd been there."

"Maybe not," Natalie sniffed. "But I blamed myself. I ran from that house right to a bottle of booze. Drank myself silly. Found an old connection, did a few drugs and was right back into my previous life like Arthur had never mattered to me. I went that way for a year off and on. Arthur did his best to help, he was a saint. Finally he'd had enough and for two more years I wallowed and tried to destroy my life again. Then I woke one morning, called Arthur and asked if he'd pay for rehab."

Reaching out to the woman, Rosie took Natalie's hand. The woman looked her in the eye, surprised by the gesture. "You got clean again?" Rosie was still intrigued.

"Have been for three years now."

"And what about Matthew?"

With a deep breath, Natalie finally unraveled that part of the tale. "I met Nancy in rehab. She'd lived a similar life as myself, pregnant at a young age and gave the baby up. Lived on the streets, did plenty of drugs. But she was there hoping to get back to her life. She had also married a widower with two young daughters, but she lost her husband to cancer. We both commiserated on that, my baby and her husband. It hits so many different people for unknown reasons."

Rosie felt a tear trickle down her cheek. "My mum," she whispered.

Natalie's hand squeezed Rosie's. "After two months in rehab together Nancy told me about Matthew. She'd found him. They'd planned a meet up but she'd gotten scared and never showed. That's what ended her up back on the drugs, her feeling of failure. Her step-daughters eventually got her into rehab again, which is when I met her."

It was plain to see that there was more to the story, but Rosie didn't push. She sat quietly waiting for the rest.

"I encouraged Nancy to meet Matthew before it was too late, the way I'd left things with my baby girl. She was about to make the call when she learned of Matthew's death. She told me about Beth, the little girl he and his wife had left behind. Again I encouraged her to find the girl, be a grandmother to her and even raise her if she could. But guilt took over for Nancy. Only a few days after she learned about Matthew and her granddaughter, she died of an overdose."

With a heavy heart, Rosie closed her eyes and let the whole story sink in.

"Nancy was the best friend I ever had other than Arthur," Natalie revealed. "When I learned about her death I was tempted to slip up again, take something to ease the pain. Instead I ended up here pretending to be her. I don't know what I was thinking. Clearly I'm still not well and I won't blame you for having me arrested and jailed. I can only offer you my deepest remorse for what I've put you through, although I doubt that will ever be enough."

Her life story danced about in Rosie's head for a while. She realized again how lucky she was to have her family, her dad who meddled so much because he loved her and worried about what happened to her, and her husband who risked his life for hers. "I don't know what I want to do about you, Natalie. I just want to see my little monkey."

Those words made Natalie smile, something Rosie wasn't sure she'd seen before. Natalie moved aside and allowed Rosie to enter the small plane. Beth was awake but curled up on a long bench seat with her pink blanket and some sort of paper clutched in one hand. When she spotted Rosie her eyes widened and Beth reached for her.

"Hi, monkey," Rosie whispered in the girl's ear as she held the child close. "I missed you."

"Missed you," Beth echoed the sentiment.

Rosie sat down inside the airplane and settled Beth on her lap. She kissed the girl's forehead as Beth snuggled herself against Rosie's side and held on as tightly as she could. "You're okay, monkey," Rosie soothed, running a hand over the child's soft blonde hair.

"Do you know how I got her to come with me?" Natalie asked as she sat beside them.

Rosie's head shook. "No."

Natalie smiled again as she regarded the child with Rosie. "I told her I'd take her to see her mum if she came with me," she revealed. "The only reason she agreed was to see you," Natalie concluded.

"Beth doesn't call me mum," Rosie replied. "She probably thought you meant her real mum who she hasn't seen in months. Of course she was eager for that to happen, I can't blame her."

"No," Natalie shook her head, clearly not in agreement. "Beth knew I meant you. See what she's holding there?" Natalie asked.

Taking a second, Rosie finally glanced at the paper in Beth's hand and realized it was a photograph.

"It's a picture of you and your husband," Natalie verified. "And she pointed to you and called you mum."

"Did you do that, baby?" Rosie asked Beth, not quite believing the woman's claims.

Beth looked up at Rosie and smiled softly. "That's daddy and mummy," the little girl proclaimed as she pointed to Max and then Rosie in the picture. Then she looked to Rosie and smiled brighter. "You mummy," Beth declared, wrapping her arms around Rosie's neck. "Go home now, pwease?" she asked.

With tears pricking her eyes, Rosie nodded and hugged Beth tightly. "Yeah, monkey, we can go home now."

Rosie led the girl off the plane as Natalie followed in their wake. Beth ran to Max and thankfully wrapped her arms about his legs as she was unable to reach his injured torso. "Up, daddy!" Beth excitedly shouted. "Swing me upside down, pwease?"

It was hard to resist the girl's sweet little smile and the way her lower lip stuck out as she asked. "I'm so sorry, monkey. Daddy's too sore right now to swing you or pick you up," Max regrettably informed his daughter.

"Love you, daddy," Beth smiled again as she seemed to understand her father's dilemma.

"Love you, monkey," he kissed his fingertips and pressed them gently against her forehead in lieu of being able to bend at the waist to kiss her.

"Well, I'll gladly pick you up," Danny said as he scooped the little girl in to his embrace and kissed her cheek.

"You have no idea how happy we all are to see you, Bethy," Evan spoke as he lightly tickled the girl under her left arm. He laughed with her as she tried to shrug away from the tickles.

"Rosie, Max…" Yeboah spoke as he kept a keen eye on Natalie. "Do you want her charged for kidnapping?" the officer asked.

"No, we're not filing charges," Rosie insisted.

Max's brow shot up his forehead. "We're not?" he asked with disbelief.

It was actually Natalie who seemed the most shocked by Rosie's unexpected declaration. "How can you not?" the woman asked with equal skepticism. "What I did to you, to Beth… I'm a horrible person, Rosie. I should be punished for what I've done."

"I think you're just a confused person," Rosie did not back down on her opinion. "You've lost your way a bit, Natalie. And I'm pretty sure you've already punished yourself enough."

No one in the group was especially shocked by Rosie's compassion, except for Natalie who remained standing before them with a sense of unworthiness. "How can you be so kind?"

"Because if I were in your place I'd want to be treated with kindness, with understanding," Rosie stated. She looked to Max for a moment and took his hand, holding it tightly. "I know what it's like to lose a child," those words were still difficult ones to speak. "I could have ended up down the same path you did," Rosie realized.

Yeboah stepped toward Natalie nonetheless. "I am afraid you are still being charged with forgery of legal documents. I will have to take you in and formally charge you at the police station in town."

"I understand," Natalie nodded as she flashed Beth a small, remorseful, smile.

xxx

"Where are they? Do you think they'll be back soon with Beth?" Charlotte asked, still blaming herself for what had happened.

Alice wrapped a comforting arm about her daughter's shoulders. "When I spoke to Danny he said that Henry was insisting that they take Max to a doctor to be looked at."

"Thank goodness," Max's mother sighed with relief, never too old to worry about her children.

"But Beth's with them, right?" Charlotte looked again for reassurance.

"She is," Alice replied.

"You know what we need," Beth said. "We need a distraction. We should do something here on our end for them."

Nomsa and Alice nodded, but it was Charlotte who asked, "Like what?"

"Well…" the woman thought about it for only a moment when her eyes lit upon something. "Max and Rosie don't really have a home here anymore since their place collapsed. We should fix up a room in the main house for them and Beth," she suggested.

"That is a very good idea," Nomsa agreed. "I will help," she added. "I have fresh linen for the bed in Rosie's old room. And you can help as well," Nomsa spoke to Charlotte. "We should also remake the bed for Beth in your room."

Charlotte nodded, a little more cheerfully. "Okay, but after that I think we should do something else important for Beth," she leaned in close and whispered something in Nomsa's ear.

"That would be very wonderful," the woman grinned.

"What?" the elder Beth inquired.

"Today is little Beth's birthday," Charlotte pointed out.

"My goodness, I almost forgot," Max's mother felt bad. "In that case there is also something else I must do. Do you think there might be someone who could give me a ride into town?" she asked.

"I'll drive you," Alice offered, interested in what the trip to town was all about.

xxx

The sun shined overhead as mid-day approached. Damage from the storm remained, but clear blue sky reigned above.

Beth was glued to Rosie as they sat in the backseat of Max's truck, finally on approach to the house. They'd made a rather lengthy detour to the closest clinic at Henry's insistence. Due to the storm there'd been a great deal of people with mostly minor injuries hanging about the small clinic in town. After a long wait Max had been diagnosed with a few cracked ribs and plenty of bruises, but thankfully nothing more serious than that.

Rosie stepped out of the jeep and walked to the front porch with Max beside them.

Nomsa and Charlotte were waiting there to welcome them back. "Where are the others?" Nomsa inquired, seeing only Henry, Max, Rosie and little Beth.

"Oh, uh… Dup went with Dad and Evan," Rosie reported. "Not sure what they're up to. Where are Alice and Beth?"

"They are up to something as well," Nomsa shrugged. "Come," she ushered them inside. "We have a room set up for you," Nomsa motioned them inside. "There's not much to eat because the power is still out, but I have some fruit and crackers if you're hungry. Charlotte and I have something we must get to now as well," she looked to Henry who was hovering about. "We could use a ride," Nomsa let him know.

"Certainly," the older man agreed.

As the others retreated, little Beth slowly raised her head and looked around, clearly relieved to be back home at Leopard's Den. "Mummy?" her small voice called out, "Me sweepy."

Rosie smiled at the girl. "You've had a heck of a day, haven't you, baby?"

Max sat down on the edge of the bed and beckoned Rosie to do the same. "Remember what I had planned?" he asked with a drowsy smile. "You and me in bed together for a long time," Max winked.

"Yes, to take a _nap_," she reminded him of that slightly boring part of the plan.

He nodded and chuckled softly. "Sounds brilliant," Max agreed, settling down and getting as comfortable as possible.

xxx

Late afternoon sun trickled through the thin window coverings.

Max squinted against the offending light, wanting to sleep forever if he could. Instead he woke to find Rosie awake beside him and Beth sitting up between them. The little girl wore a big jolly grin as she snuggled her pink blanket and rubbed at her eyes, still waking up. Rosie nuzzled her cheek against Max's shoulder, being sure to keep away from his injured parts.

"Morning," he whispered.

"Hmm, not quite," Rosie chuckled, "Still the same day, just a bit later."

"Feels like I've slept for two weeks," Max groaned as he attempted to stretch a little.

"Careful there, mister," Rosie warned. "You're meant to take it easy for a while, which is kind of nice," she grinned. "It means I can hold you captive in my bed for days, maybe even weeks."

He laughed but glanced at Beth. "Kind of not so romantic or fun with a three year old in our bed," Max noted.

"Yeah, well…" Rosie realized something. "You're right, Max. She's three years old. Today's Friday so it's her birthday," she reached for the girl and Beth amiably settled upon Rosie's lap. "Happy Birthday, monkey, I'm so sorry I nearly forgot with all that's gone on."

"But we didn't," a voice to the left said.

Rosie turned to see her dad standing in the half open doorway. "What's going on?" she asked, instantly suspicious of the goofy grin on his face.

Danny shrugged. "If you three get up out of bed we can finally have a proper celebration. There's something I really want to show all of you," he said before disappearing.

"Are you sure you want to be a part of this crazy family, Bethy?" Rosie asked.

"Famiwy," Beth smiled.

The three of them trudged out of bed, still somewhat sleepy but curious about Danny's appearance. "Okay, dad," Rosie arrived in the hallway to find him and Alice hovering by the front door. "What is so important that you need to show us now?"

With his arm about her shoulder, Danny led them across the yard to the vet hospital. "This is what I wanted you to see first off," he stopped beside one of the large indoor animal enclosures.

Recognizing the cheetah and the cub she'd rescued, Rosie smiled. The cub was feeding and lively, while the mother cheetah seemed calm and was managing well with her first time motherhood role. "Look there," Alice pointed to the cage across from the mother and cub. "That's the cheetah you've been nursing back to health."

Rosie could see that the cheetah was active and looked much stronger and healthier. It was also pacing close to the other cheetahs, batting a playful paw through the bars every once in a while. "Fwiends!" Beth declared.

"That's right, monkey," Danny lifted the girl to his hip. "You were spot on about these animals, the cheetahs have all turned out to be good friends," he looked to Rosie. "This was her idea, you know? Both cheetahs have shown a keen interest in one another. The one has perked up considerably and the other has settled into motherhood smashingly. Smartest three-year-old I've ever known," he pointed to indicate the little girl in his arms.

"Aside from me, of course," Rosie put in.

"Uh, well…" Danny wore a look somewhat akin to a caged animal. "They do say parents always wish for their children to outdo them."

"Right…" Rosie drawled. "Nice save, dad."

Danny chuckled as he glanced Alice's way. "Do you think we've stalled long enough?" he asked her.

Alice looked over his shoulder to the house where she caught Nomsa waving. "Yep, I think we're good."

"Now what's going on?" Rosie wanted to know as Danny redirected them back to the house.

Danny and Alice remained tight lipped until they stepped on to the porch and cheered with the rest of their family. "Happy Birthday, Beth…" though some said Bethy while others said monkey, and one normally grouchy old man declared her cheetah girl. By whatever name she was known little Beth was clearly much loved.

Nomsa walked out to join them holding and presenting a large chocolate cake with three pink candles aflame on top of the icing.

"How'd you manage this, Nomsa?" Rosie was surprised but thrilled. "The power is still out from the storm."

Charlotte stepped forward to explain, "We went to Mara and borrowed their kitchen, they have power," she said with a proud smile.

Rosie's eyes immediately zeroed in on Vanessa. "Thank you," she said to the woman.

"My pleasure," Vanessa replied.

Beth beamed as they all sang to her and watched while she made several attempts to blow out the candles before Evan helped. When her grandparents, Henry and Beth, presented the little girl with a large cardboard box she jumped up and down to see what was inside. Beth plucked the small gray kitten out with both hands, being more careful than most kids her age might.

The little girl was delighted. Rosie and Max were slightly more leery of the gift.

"Haxey, kitty," Beth named it, holding the little guy up for her parents to see.

"What's a Haxey?" Evan crinkled his nose.

Charlotte shrugged. "I have no idea."

Rosie stepped in to defend the child, realizing she'd never be able to take the cat back and risk traumatizing her daughter. "She's only three; she can name her kitty anything she wants," Rosie quickly warmed to the idea of the cat as a pet.

"Good lord, are you ever going to be a pushover of a mum," Evan chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," Rosie rolled her eyes at the comment and elbowed her little brother. "Maybe so, but at least I will never stomp on my children's creative thinking," she declared. Everyone laughed but Rosie noticed Max seemed a bit quiet still. "You afraid they're trying to buy her love with fancy gifts?" she guessed his thoughts.

Max shook his head, though. "Nah, I think Beth already loves them."

"And the feeling is mutual," Rosie noted, watching Henry get down on his knees to play with Beth and the kitten.

"I was just worrying about transporting the poor cat all the way to Cape Town with us," Max eyed his wife. "You know we haven't told anyone about our plans for you to go to school yet, or about the…" he glanced down at her belly, which you could only tell was slightly rounder if you were looking.

With a nod, Rosie looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. "I'm still just a bit worried, you know."

He squeezed her hand. "It's going to be fine, all of it," he promised.

"I hope so," Rosie was less certain. "I really hope so," even with Beth back in their care and a happy birthday celebration underway, she couldn't help worry about Beth's adoption, or their unborn baby's safety, or how the heck they were going to pay for her schooling as well as the cost of raising two kids, not to mention taking care of them.

"I can hear you worrying," Max whispered. "Stop it. We're celebrating."

"That an order, Mr. Gifthold?" she finally smiled.

"Absolutely," he playfully commanded.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, _Wild at Heart_.

* * *

**Independent Hearts  
****Part 6**

By  
N. J. Borba

* * *

Rosie woke up in bed alone.

It felt a little strange being in her old room. Sort of a flashback to the way her teenaged life in South Africa had started several years ago. But now she was married and had a daughter and a baby on the way. Rosie still couldn't believe the direction her life had taken. Often it didn't seem real. However, the commotion outside was making her Monday morning feel very real.

There were voices, clangs and bangs coming from outside her window prompting Rosie to climb out of bed. After a quick shower and some clean clothes borrowed from Alice, Rosie ventured outside to see what was going on. She first spotted Henry and her dad clearing away some of the metal roofing from the old vet clinic and her home for a brief time. Evan and Dup were there as well, picking up and sorting through a wide variety of items.

She finally noticed Max standing off to the side by himself, seeming to stare at something important. As Rosie approached him she noticed exactly what he was looking at and it broke her heart. Her left hand rested against his back, hoping to be gentle enough not to hurt him, but also comfort him. "Morning, sleepy head," Max greeted, pulling his gaze away from the item.

"Pretty sure this baby is zapping my energy," Rosie said with a soft smile. Her mode shifted a little as she watched his eyes fix on the remains of the wooden object. Her voice was practically a whisper as she spoke again, "Do you have any idea how lucky we are that we weren't here when this happened?"

"I made that for you," Max finally spoke, pointing at the stack of wood that had once been his simply crafted cradle, "For our baby."

"And I loved it, Max," she assured him.

Max stood a little closer, close enough to whisper in her ear, "This is not some bad omen, Rosie," he easily sensed what she was feeling. "I made that cradle and I'll make another if you want. A new one for our new baby," he promised.

That caused her to smile, more so for his positive attitude and for the way he always knew how to brighten her mood. "I'd like that."

"Hey, Rosie, look at this!" Evan called out to them and waved them over. "I found something. I think it's the cabinet Max made for Beth's books and toys." He pulled off some more debris from the stack he'd been working on. After a few more minutes he pulled the very scratched, but otherwise intact, cabinet free from the rubble. "Beth's books and everything look to be in good shape," Evan happily reported.

"Finally, some good news," Rosie quipped.

"Rosie!" someone else shouted her name. Rosie and Max turned to see Nomsa motioning at them from the front porch. "There is a call for you," the woman explained.

"Might be about school," Max whispered as they walked together toward the house.

Rosie had contacted the school to see about her acceptance for the coming term, but it had been late on Friday and they hadn't expected a call for several more days yet. To be contacted so early on Monday morning caused Rosie to worry that a quick decision would mean a negative one. "They asked for either of you," Nomsa said when they approached.

"I think that rules out the school?" Rosie shrugged and took the call.

Max regarded her for a long moment, not able to read her face. "Rosie, what is it? Good news or bad?"

"Actually," her shoulders rose with uncertainly. "I'm not sure. That was judge Malamo, the one working on Beth's adoption case. He said he'd like to speak with us, today if possible," she revealed. "What if they're about to take her away from us, Max? She called me mummy for the first time just two days. I don't think I could stand to lose her now…"

"We'll fight," Max insisted. "You lifted a tree off my chest, Rosie. And then you talked to our kidnapper and actually made us all feel sorry for her. I think we can handle the courts. Whatever needs doing, we fight to keep Bethy with us," he vowed.

She nodded, spirit renewed by his words. "Then let's go talk to the judge."

xxx

When they arrived home several hours later, Beth dashed across the yard and greeted them at the truck that Rosie had driven them to town in. "Mummy, the kitty gots a new bed," the little girl reported. "Evan made it for me," she grinned excitedly.

"That's wonderful, baby," Rosie lifted the girl into her arms and hugged her for a long time until Beth wiggled free.

"Mummy, let down pwease," Beth said. "Me feed cheetahs with you now?" she asked.

Rosie and Max were both glad to see that she'd been oblivious to where they'd been, blissfully unaware that a judge she didn't know had decided her fate just one hour ago. They walked with the girl, each holding one of her hands, out to the animal hospital. Rosie spotted Alice and her father tending the cheetahs. Dup and Evan showed up shortly. They were followed soon thereafter by Nomsa, Charlotte and finally Max's parents entered the animal hospital.

It wasn't difficult to see that they were all anxiously waiting for news about what had happened with the judge. "So…" Danny prompted.

"In light of what happened with Natalie, Judge Malamo made his final decision on our custody petition," Max announced.

Evan bit his lip even as he asked, "What sort of decision," he knew what it meant to have your life hanging in the balance in regard to custody. As much as he still loved his father, he'd wanted only to stay with Danny at Leopard's Den.

"Judge Malamo said that since Beth officially has no living blood relatives that he was granting our petition for adoption," Rosie finally revealed. "He actually signed the official adoption papers while we were there today. Beth is legally our daughter, and her adoptive name is: Elizabeth Webster Gifthold. Or just Beth… or monkey…" she smiled down at the girl feeding the cheetah who still seemed completely unaware of the momentous occasion.

"How about cheetah girl," Dup chuckled.

There was laughter all around at that remark. Until the sound of a vehicle outside caught their attention.

"Everyone is already here to celebrate," Nomsa said, leading the group outside and toward the house.

As soon as Rosie saw the police car she recognized Natalie's form inside. Yeboah exited the vehicle and opened the door for the woman he had driven there. "You have just a few minutes before we need to leave," he informed her.

Natalie nodded and took a deep breath of the afternoon air before approaching Rosie and Max. "I don't wish to intrude on your family any further," she began. "I'm being sent back to England and will be sentenced formally there. Yeboah thinks I will need only to serve community service for my illegal forging crime, we shall see," Natalie wasn't entirely convinced of the fact. "I have to be at the airport in Joburg shorty, but if you'd indulge me for just a moment longer?"

"Say what you need to say," Rosie offered in another act of kindness.

The older woman looked to Max and then to Beth who was clinging to Rosie's side, much as she'd been the first time they'd met. "I truly am sorry for the trouble I've caused your family. Beth is very lucky to have such a wonderful mother."

Rosie smiled, rubbing a hand across Beth's shoulder. "What will happen when you get back to England?" Rosie wanted to know, genuine concern for the woman showing. "I mean after the community service and all that. How will you cope with life this time?"

Natalie wore a faint smile. "Arthur said he'd be waiting for me at the airport when I return. He's hired some fancy psychologist and I've fully agreed to do whatever needs doing to get my life back in order, possibly including Arthur in that life again."

"He must really love you," Max noted.

"Damned fool," Natalie smiled a bit more. She turned her attention squarely on Rosie as she spoke again, "I guess I'm not as independent as I like to think," the woman remarked.

Rose glanced to where Max was standing beside her, she grinned. "Neither am I," she revealed. "Natalie," Rosie looked to the woman, still feeling an oddly kindred spirit in her. "Maybe, if you like… maybe you could keep in touch," she offered. "You could even give me the names of Nancy's step-daughters so I could tell them about Beth, if you think they might be agreeable to that."

"I think they will be, and… I would like that very much," Natalie nodded before she slipped back into Yeboah's police car without further words.

With Max's arm around her waist, Rosie watched until the car was out of sight.

"I have lemonade and sandwiches," Nomsa said, breaking up the slightly uncomfortable silence that had befallen the group.

They all moved to the porch, helping to set up for their mid-day meal. The group had barely sat down to eat when another vehicle came along the dusty road, kicking up a trail of dirt. "What, she's back again?" Dup asked; twisting to see if it was Yeboah's police car and wondering what trouble might be up.

But they could all see that it was in fact a taxi rather than a police vehicle. And the person who stepped out caused Dup to rise to his feet in a split second. His eyes lit up and he moved down the steps faster than most of them had ever seen him move before. "Caroline?" he called to her, still unsure he was actually seeing her.

Her elated smile caused her nose to crinkle, her whole face lighting as Dup's beefy arms wrapped around her. "The storm delayed me but I managed to get a flight in from Joburg today. I wanted to surprise you all…" she laughed as Dup actually spun her around. "Which I believe I have been successful in," Caroline easily noticed from the warm reception from her fiancé.

"That you did, lady," Dup said before kissing her. "That you did."

There were many more hugs as everyone took their turn to welcome Caroline home. And several introductions also occurred as she met the newest members of their rather extended family, Alice, Charlotte, Beth and of course the kitten, Haxey. "He's adorable," Caroline told little Beth. "Just as you are," she shared a smile with Rosie. "This family has expanded in marvelous ways since I've been gone. So sorry I've missed so much of it."

"Well," Rosie gently bit her lip as she looked to Max. He nodded, sensing what it was on her mind. "It's about to change and grow some more," she finally felt it was time to reveal their good news to everyone. Even thought she was still nervous about it. "Max and I are having a baby," she announced.

"And we're moving to Cape Town so Rosie can go to school," Max added. "I'll be minding Beth and the baby for a while until I feel ready to let them stay at a child care center," he further explained. "Money will be tight for a while, but we'll manage, somehow…"

"Wait a minute," Danny shook his head and looked to Rosie. "I think in all of that you said something about a baby?"

She nodded. "Yes, I did. Are you upset?"

"Wha…" Danny's mouth hung open for a moment. "No, I'm not upset. Not at all," he wrapped his arms about his daughter. "It'll be different this time," he whispered in her ear, sensing her trepidation. "I know it will."

"Well, son," Henry spoke up, extending his hand to the younger man. "Congratulations. I know you may be too proud for this," the man turned to Danny, "And perhaps you'll be too proud as well," his attention fell back upon Max. "But your mother and I would like to offer to pay for Rosie's schooling."

"Henry, no," it was Rosie who spoke up. "That's too much. I, we can't ask that of you…" she was mainly worried about how Max would handle the offer, afraid he'd blow up at his father again.

"You're not asking," Henry countered. "Look, I understand that all of us didn't get off to the best start here. I know most of that was my fault and I know that throwing money on a problem such as family discord is not the way to solve things. But I realize now how foolish I've been. I only have one family, one Max. I was an idiot for wanting him to follow after me."

"But I have, dad," Max interrupted, surprising them all. "I defied you and went off on my own to find myself, but I ended up buying and running a bar. Same sort of business you started off with as a young man," he noted.

Henry nodded, pride seeping through in a smile. "Does that mean you'll be open to this? I want to pay for Rosie's schooling so she, so all of you…" he extended his hands and motioned toward the surrounding land. "So you can move back here one day and help this place continue to thrive. Please, let an old man make amends in the only way he knows how."

Rosie went to Henry and kissed his cheek appreciatively. "You've already made amends, Henry, trust me," she assured him. "But… if you insist on paying for my schooling, really, who am I to try stopping you?" she joked.

"This means you'll be living near us in Cape Town," Beth realized. "So I could watch little Beth for you some days if you liked, and the baby when it arrives. That way Max could still work."

"What do you say, Mr. Gifthold?" Rosie asked, eyeing her husband. "Are you too proud for all that?"

"Are you, Mrs. Independent Woman that I adore?" he countered.

She grinned. "I think we could make it work."

"I think I'm gonna miss you all like crazy," Danny said as he hugged his daughter again. "But I'm so proud of you, Rosie, I hope you know that," he whispered to her. Danny pulled back, his hands still resting on her shoulders. "And I'm very happy for you," he added.

"Even though we still have so little money?" she grinned.

"Even though," Danny chuckled.

xxx

Much later that night after they'd tucked in Beth with her kitten snuggled in bed beside her, Max and Rosie sat outside upon a wooden bench on the side porch. The purple and orange sunset was almost done with its nightly performance, darkness closing in from all directions. In the distance they could see a giraffe slowly working its way through the scrub.

"I am really going to miss this place when we leave for Cape Town," Rosie sighed, laying her head upon Max's shoulder.

"We'll be back," Max assured her.

She turned a little, "You sure? What if we fall in love with life on the beach?"

"I doubt it," Max maintained his view. "This place has a way of getting in your blood, Rosie, under your skin. It's where I found you, and I wouldn't trade either one for the world."

"I'm not sure what I'd ever do without you."

"Well, you never need find out," he promised.

xxx

**Epilogue**

Liv stormed out of the kitchen, glaring at Alice as she went. A moment later they all heard the front door slam.

"What we gonna do with that girl?" Dup asked with exasperation as he buttered a piece of toast. "She's impossible," he turned his eyes toward Charlotte who was sitting beside her mother. "You're never going to be a teenager, you hear?"

The girl chuckled as she ate her breakfast.

Caroline flashed an apologetic look Alice's direction as she stood. "I don't really know what's up with her, I thought we'd sorted all this a few weeks back," she commiserated with her husband. "But I should probably go and speak with her. This sort of behavior is unacceptable and it needs to stop."

"No, Caroline," Danny got to his feet, still slightly overwhelmed by Liv's re-entrance into their lives a few months ago. "I'll have a chat with her. You're right, this can't go on."

"Danny," Alice tugged at his hand though she remained seated beside him. "Don't be angry with her, I don't think that's going to solve anything. It hasn't so far. We can't all expect that she's just going to accept me in her life so easily. It's only been a few months."

He was contemplating what to do, stay or go after Liv, when the front door opened and closed again. He sighed with relief for a moment, thinking she'd finally come to her senses. "Liv, we should talk…" he trailed of when he spotted a lively little girl bounding his way, "Monkey?" Danny motioned the girl over. "Is that you?"

Beth barreled into him, wrapping both arms around his legs, "Hi!" she surprised everyone with her smiling presence.

Danny kissed his first grandchild on the cheek then drew her over to the chair he'd recently occupied. He hefted her onto his knee. "What are you doing here, Bethy?"

She looked him right in the eye and wore a serious face as she spoke. "I runed away fom home, gwandpa. Mummy and daddy too busy notice," Beth concluded, sticking out her lower lip a little to make a sad, pouty face.

"But how did you get here?" Charlotte asked.

"With us," it was Rosie who answered from the doorway.

Danny frowned at his granddaughter. "I should've known, you're just as bad as your mum," he shook his head, but kissed the little girl again. After quickly passing the child over to where Dup and Caroline were seated, Danny got up and hugged Rosie. He stepped back a few inches and patted her heavily pregnant belly. "Are you planning to teach this one that same sort of cheekiness that you've obviously been teaching Beth?"

"Absolutely," Rosie grinned. "Of course there's very little teaching involved. It just sort of rubs right off."

Max smiled as he came to join his wife. "So true," he agreed teasingly.

"Sit, have a seat," Danny offered his chair to the very pregnant woman. "Are you hungry? You're here early, we weren't expecting you for a few days," he and Max helped Rosie sit then Danny brought over more chairs for him and his son-in-law.

"Sorry," Rosie apologized. "My exams ended early so we took off yesterday, drove as far as Joburg before we were all about to pass out tired. Got up early this morning and figured we'd make it in time for breakfast," Rosie grinned.

Nomsa grabbed some extra plates from the cupboard and dished them up some food.

Danny pulled Beth over to his lap again, happy to have time to hold the girl. "You've gotten so big, baby girl. I barely recognized you," he joked.

"Me not baby," Beth declared. "That's the baby, gwandpa," she pointed to Rosie's stomach.

"Right you are, smart girl," Danny agreed. "What's the baby's name going to be?" he asked Beth.

"Dunno," the little girl shrugged.

"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" Danny looked to Rosie and then Max.

Rosie shook her head. "We decided we wanted to be surprised," she said. "Of course Max has only picked out boy names. In fact, I think all the names he's picked have something to do with rugby players."

"Nice one," Dup showed his approval of that manner of name picking.

"Not all of them," Max protested. "You know she exaggerates. I've also picked names of my favorite super heroes," he grinned.

"Who knew you were such a dork?" Alice playfully joined the teasing.

They all laughed as Max took the ribbing in stride. "It's a no-brainer that the baby will be a boy," he declared. "My dad had two boys and it's the male who really decides the baby's gender, Y or X chromosome, right?" he eyed Rosie who nodded. "So I'll go with Y all the way."

"Why me?" Rosie jokingly lamented, rolling her eyes at him. "Where are Evan and Liv?" she asked before taking a bite of eggs.

"Evan left for a school trip yesterday," Danny replied. "He'll be back for the holiday. And Liv…" he trailed off for a second, "Not exactly sure where she's at right now."

Rosie wore a sympathetic look. "Still not going so well?"

"No," was all Alice said in response.

"Ogogo," Beth said as she looked to Nomsa. "Me have bacon, pwease?"

The woman stared at Beth for a moment. "Did she just call me Ogogo?"

"I hope you don't mind," Max shared a brief glance with Rosie before he went on. "We taught her that Zulu word for grandma," he looked around the table. "Actually, we show her pictures of all of you every day so she won't forget you," Max leaned over and whispered in Beth's ear, though he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "What do you call all of these people here?" he asked his daughter.

Beth shrugged, feeling a bit shy for a second, "Famiwy."

Rosie laughed. "Yes, but what are all of the names you call them when we look at the pictures at night?" she prompted.

The girl turned to Danny, whose lap she still sat on. "Gwandpa," she said. "Gwandpa Danny, not Gwandpa Henwy," her little head turned to Alice, "You Nan," she smiled. "Chawlotte," Beth easily remembered her friend. When she looked over at Caroline she paused a moment and then smiled again. "Gwan," she declared, causing Caroline to smile as well.

When she stopped, Rosie stepped in again. "Bethy, what about that guy over there?" she pointed to Du Plesses.

"Mummy, you know that Dup," the girl replied matter-of-factly.

Everyone laughed.

xxx

Rosie gazed up at the twinkling stars as she sat on the old wooden bench alongside the house.

It was dark out, nearly midnight, when a car pulled to a brief stop at the front of the house. The headlights cut a swath of brightness across the calm night. Then they turned around and headed out of sight. Rosie heard the girl walking as quietly as she could up the steps and across the creaky porch. "Where the heck have you been all day?" Rosie called out.

"Jeez!" Liv exclaimed, though it was still a bit of a whispered tone. She stuck her head around the corner and focused her eyes in the dark. "Rosie?" she asked, moving in closer. "What the heck are you doing out here this late? I didn't even know you were home."

"Probably because you haven't been here all day," Rosie pointed out, keeping her tone even though she'd been worried. "And don't try to change the subject. Where've you been?"

"Out," Liv shrugged.

The elder sister sighed and shook her head. "Oh, I can't wait for my kids to be teenagers," she lamented but smiled. "I'd stand up to hug you but my back is killing me. I couldn't sleep so that's why I'm out here," Rosie explained. "Now are you going to get over here and hug me, kid?" she offered with outstretched arms.

Liv's hesitance swiftly dissipated and she sat beside her older sister and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're here, Rosie."

"It feels like I haven't seen you in forever, munchkin," Rosie pulled out of the hug and smiled at Liv.

"You haven't called me munchkin in forever," Liv chuckled.

They sat for a short time in silence before Rosie prodded again, "So… you going to tell me the truth?"

"I was just out with some friends," Liv said. "Went shopping and then… you know…"

"Drinking," Rosie supplied, having smelled the alcohol on her little sister's breath straight away.

"Only a couple drinks, Rosie, I swear," Liv felt a bit like she was being interrogated by a mother. "I'm not drunk."

Rosie nodded. "I believe you, kid."

"You know, I haven't been a kid for a while," Liv pointed out. "Not since the day my mum died," she declared. "And if you're going to lecture me about how I should respect Danny's decision to move on and be with Alice, and how I should be nicer to Alice… don't bother, okay? I've heard it all before and I just… I don't hate Alice," she sighed heavily. "I just…"

With one hand, Rosie patted Liv's thigh. "If it helps at all, I understand. I've been there, remember?"

"But you did hate mum," Liv responded. "You said you did."

"I was a teenager," Rosie shrugged. "Nothing teenagers say can really be taken very seriously," she declared with a small smile, hoping to ease some of the girl's tension. "I never really hated Sarah; I just hated what she represented."

"How so?" Liv was interested.

"Probably the same way you feel," Rosie expanded. "When dad started dating Sarah, when he told me he was in love with her, when he proposed, when they got married… every little step like that made me realize more and more that my mum was never coming back to us. And as much as I knew she was dead, I still…" Rosie felt tears prick her eyes even talking about it now. "I still had this hope that she'd come back, somehow. But with Sarah there I had to slowly accept that she wasn't coming back."

Liv did let her tears fall as she laid her head on Rosie's shoulder. "I do still think that sometimes, that she'll be back. Why do I feel that? I know it's not true," she gulped.

Rosie leaned her head against Liv's. "It's called grief, kid. And it never really goes away, it just slowly gets easier."

"How'd you get so wise, Rosie?" Liv asked.

"I grew out of being a teenager and this fog lifted," Rosie quipped. But with a little more seriousness she added, "And I had two great mums in my life and a pretty fantastic father. I also had two annoying younger siblings that actually taught me a lot about love and family and that those two things don't always come in perfectly tied packages."

"I bet you're a great mum to Beth, and will be to this baby," Liv remarked as she sat up and swiped at her tears. She rested one hand against Rosie's bulging belly.

With a heavy heart Rosie thought about the little girl who was asleep inside the house. "I don't know; some days I wonder what Beth will feel when she's older and realizes I'm not her real mum."

Liv turned to look her sister in the eye. "I think Beth's luckier than either of us."

"Why's that?" Rosie was curious.

"Because she's so little," Liv pointed out. "She probably won't even remember her mum. I don't remember anything from when I was three years old," she concluded. "Will you tell her the truth some day?"

That was a really good question, Rosie thought. "I'm not sure. Max and I have never really talked about it."

Reclining again and resting her head against the wood bench, Liv gazed up at the infinite stars. "I think being a parent must be a really difficult job, like maybe the hardest. I don't know if I ever want to have kids."

"Well, if you're lucky you'll find a great guy like Max and you'll want to have kids," Rosie's hand rested atop Liv's on her pregnant belly. "And if you're really lucky, you'll have a bunch of family and friends to help you out like Max and I do," she added. "Along that line of thinking…" she eyed her sister. "I was wondering if I could ask something of you."

"Sure, what?" Liv replied wondering what she could possibly do to help.

"Max and I have been talking about the baby and godparents," Rosie revealed. "We never got to do all that with Beth so we're actually thinking of doing a combined celebration when the baby is born, for both Beth and the baby," Rosie slowly worked her way to the main point she was trying to make. "We're planning to ask Evan as well, but we want you and him to be this baby's god parents. If you're willing?"

"Really?" Liv was surprised. "I figured you'd ask Danny or Dup and Caroline, or Max's parents."

Rosie shook her head a little. "Max and I decided to go with the younger generation. We're going to ask William and Charlotte to be Beth's godparents. I know Charlotte is way young, but Beth practically worships her. And I realize William was a bit of a trouble maker when he was here at our first wedding, but he's mellowed," Rosie assured her sister. "He and Beth have actually become good buddies at Cape Town. He takes her to the beach and keeps a very close eye on her."

"That's good," Liv smiled. "I guess maybe you're on to something with that whole growing out of the teenaged fog being a good thing," she chuckled. "And I would be honored to be this baby's godmother."

"Good," Rosie winged a little. "Because I think I just realized this back ache of mine might very well be labor," she expressed.

"What?!" Liv jumped to her feet. "What do I need to do?"

"Just get Max for me," Rosie requested.

xxx

The baby was asleep in her arms and Rosie was beyond tired, but she didn't want to put the child down for a second.

"I can't believe it," Max said as he sat beside his wife and newborn baby. The baby had not waited very long to make its arrival after Rosie finally realized she was in labor. The midwife had just shown up when Rosie began to push. And a half hour later the newest member of the Gifthold and Trevanian family had come out screaming for all she was worth. "I guess we really shouldn't give her a rugby player name," the proud father conceded.

Swaddled in a cozy pink blanket, the baby moved her lips as if to suck at the air. The motion lasted only a brief second before she was still and settled again. Her pale skin was softer than anything Rosie had ever felt. And her downy puff of dark hair was silky smooth. She was tiny and marked a bit by the birth ordeal, but she remained the most gorgeous sight Rosie had ever laid eyes on.

"My first thought when I saw her," Rosie heard the tremble in her voice. "Was that I wished my mum and Sarah could see her."

Max actually got a bit teary to hear her say those words. He kissed her cheek and looked down at the baby again. "Then I think I know a good name for her. How about Mirah?" he proposed.

Rosie didn't hide her tears as she nodded, loving the name. "Did you just come up with that?"

"I might have tossed it around in my head a few times before," he shrugged.

"Hmm, and I thought you'd only picked out boy names," Rosie smiled.

He grinned. "What can I say, I'm full of surprises," Max joked a little but returned to serious mode. "I love you so much, Rosie," he kissed her again, unable to take his eyes off her or the baby. "You have no idea how proud I was of you tonight, or this morning I guess it was, is…" he realized his sense of time was rather skewed as night had turned into a new day with their new arrival. "Watching you give birth is probably the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. I'd also like to name her after the bravest, most beautiful woman I know, so how about the full name Mirah Rose Gifthold?" Max offered.

Rosie smiled through her tears. "It's perfect, Max," she agreed.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Danny poked his head in. "Sorry," he spoke in a whisper. "But someone has been asking to see you all morning and she's very persistent. She's even washed her hands half a dozen times because Liv kept telling her she couldn't have any germs when she saw the baby," he chuckled.

"It's okay," Max nodded as he got up and went to the door. Danny stepped aside and Beth leapt into Max's arms.

"I'll leave you four alone for now," Danny said as he slipped out into the hall again. He and the others in the family had already gotten their first glimpse of the baby girl when she'd arrived just after three in the morning. Beth was the only one who'd been blissfully asleep and unaware of the birth process.

"Daddy, gwandpa say the baby born," Beth spoke softly as she craned her neck to see Rosie.

"That's right, monkey," Max nodded as he carried her over to the bed. He sat down with the pajama-clad three-year-old on his lap.

Rosie leaned over and kissed Beth, happy to have her whole family together for the first time. She anticipated a lot of sleepless nights ahead and sibling rivalry and everything in between. But for the moment, Rosie was awed that she was the mother of two girls and the very lucky wife of one Max Gifthold. "This is your baby sister. What do you think, monkey?"

Beth shrugged. "Little," the girl proclaimed as she reached one hand out hesitantly to touch the top of the baby's head. She'd been instructed by her auntie Liv to be very gentle. "She has a name?"

"Mirah," Rosie supplied.

"Hi, Miwah," Beth whispered to the sleeping baby. "Me you sistew," the girl smiled proudly.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
